


Some Things Are Better Left Buried

by Miss_DNL



Series: Five Nights at Freddy's [4]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Post Five Nights at Freddy's 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-19 09:16:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 47
Words: 148,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7355053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_DNL/pseuds/Miss_DNL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The horror attraction, Fazbear's Fright, having been burned down Springtrap was thought to be destroyed along with it. At least that's what the acting night guard of the former horror attraction hopes. Only a years later; however, Fazbear Entertainment was once again bought up, but this time to once again be a family pizzeria. Using parts from the former animatronics Freddy and the gang are rebuilt and after searching the remains of Fazbear Fright they find Springtrap, still whole. It doesn't take long for the animatronics to begin "glitching" out again, but an even worse threat is about to awaken...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Forewarned

In a second story apartment the light from an old TV kept a small living room dimly lit. Cracks of light slipped through the blinds covering the window, but didn’t add much to the dull atmosphere. It was early in the morning, hardly past nine o’clock. The only noise was coming from the television. The sole occupant, a man, of the apartment was watching it, dressed in a baggy shirt and boxers. He was only partly paying attention. He only began paying any real attention when a familiar name was dropped, causing him to give pause as he poised to take a drink from a soda. It was a name that he personally wanted to forget. 

“Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, a name that’s both infamous and cherished by our town of Hurricane Utah.” A reporter in his later twenties, stubble beginning to form on his chin, and glasses perched keenly on his nose, began as he sat next to the anchor woman in the Hurricane news station. The woman next to him was hiding it well, but her worn face was showing hints of apprehension about what they were reporting. In her middle aged years, it was something she’d remember well, and worried about for good reason.

A blunt snort came from the man, around his mid-thirties as well, whilst he rolled his eyes, “And cherished, yeah, sure, why half the town acts like it’s taboo to talk about it.”

“So it goes without saying that the town has mixed feelings about the rights to Fazbear’s entertainment being bought up yet again.” 

The abrupt, and unexpected, news caused a spit take from the viewer. Jaw hanging open and speechless he stared in utter disbelief as the news anchor continued, “And this, just a little over a year, after the last attempt to breathe life into franchise with “Fazbear’s Fight” ended up in flames, when night guard Isaac Vargas lit fire to building. The then thirty-two-year-old confessed to his crime and served reduced time. This time however, the franchise will be returning to its family friendly pizzeria roots. The new owner of the franchise Herald Griffith claims he wants to keep things as close to the original restaurants as possible, while updating necessary things. To help ease the worries of those who still recall the missing children incident and the bite of eighty-seven.”

“Pft, missing right,” Isaac muttered to himself dully as he gave a slow burning glaring to the picture of the new Fazbear franchise owner-that had appeared onscreen upon his mention. He clenched his coke can tensely, a growl rising in his throat, “over thirty years and this place is still in fucking denial.”

“And now we go to T.J Matteson for thoughts from the streets.” The news anchor stated. The screen switched over to another reporter who was interviewing a random citizen. Whatever they were saying was drowned out by the sound of a soda can being crumpled.

“The fucking idiots.” Isaac growled tossing the empty coke can onto the ground before storming to his bedroom. He had to at least try to stop this. Before they woke up something they shouldn’t.

 

Herald Griffith was sitting at his desk in the manager’s office of the future pizzeria, though calling it an office right now was a bit much. Aside from the cheap temp desk he was using and the chair he was sitting on there wasn’t much in the room. The walls were bear, yet to be painted. The floor was dusty from the construction of the building around him. Boxes lay strewn about the room full of supplies to finish the near done construction, and items waiting to be unpacked. He wasn’t alone in the office two other men were with him. One being his head mechanic, whom was to manage the care of the animatronics, and a man avid as he was about the reviving. He namely served of an informant of sorts, finding out leads about where they could get some legitimate Fazbear items. Busy as he was digging up stuff he often called in about things, leading him to be called “the Phone Guy”.

His feelings towards the nickname were undecided. It depended on whether it was used in a teasing tone or not really.

“We’ve gotten some great finds. With some polish I’m sure the parts we found will lower the costs of rebuilding the animatronics.” The Phone Guy stated, as he looked at a list that he’d typed up of items that they had recovered. To be certain he looked over to the robotics mechanic next to him.

Catching the look, the man nodded in confirmation, “Yeah, it’ll be cut…” he tilted his head up causing him to look at the bland concrete ceiling, “to about half the cost maybe? I’ll know for sure when I get a good look at the parts you guys found.”

“You can look at the parts right away.” Herald stated while motioning casually towards the area were the animatronics parts were kept. The mechanic nodded. Herald looked back over to Phone Guy, “Have you found out anything else?”

“With what we have, we’ll have Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Mangle, Balloon Boy and the Puppet,” The manager nodded accordingly to the list. Phone Guy glanced at him briefly before continuing, checking his boss’s expression, “while it’d cost too much to have the classic bunch and the toy versions running, for now…”

“For now.” Herald echoed, hopefully if things went well they’d be able to add the cuter toy versions to the cast. If they did, then they’d really be able to bring in costumers. The toy versions were updated models, leading to their parts being more expensive and at the cost of durability. So the classics it was. 

The Phone Guy nodded, “But, what about another possible animatronic? One that is hopefully in one piece.”

“I’d say go on.” Herald answered with a faint echo of amusement in his tone and expression. While the mechanic didn’t seem to share in his little joke. The Phone Guy seemed slightly amused, though possibly because of the interest, and continued,

“You recall Fazbear’s Fright, correct?” Both the mechanic and his boss nodded. “Well, the building is unstable after the fire. So town hall is going to have it torn down. Not only do I think we can salvage some parts, but they had an animatronic.” Phone Guy grinned when he saw Griffith’s yes widen at the prospect, he knew his boss would like this. 

“Which one was it?” The mechanic next to him asked, scratching his stubble covered chin, “Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, Foxy, the Puppet…” he held a moment, not really thinking the next one would be it but went ahead listed it anyway, “Balloon Boy?”

“Bonnie basically.” The Phone Guy stated with a slight grin, showing that he knew something the others likely didn’t know. 

As expected the mechanic scrunched his brow together, catching is tone and expression but failing to figure out what he meant. Giving in the mechanic confusedly asked, “Okay, what do you mean by basically?” He blinked with a sudden idea, quickly adding, “Is it a different model from the purple one?”

Nodding that he was correct the Phone Guy grinned, eager to announce his find, “It’s one of the originals, it’s Spring Bonnie.” He creased his brow downward looking at the paper he was holding, “Or Spring ‘trap’ as they had decided to call it. Renamed it to sound scarier I guess.” He shrugged it off, “Anyway, if we can manage to get permission from whoever we need it from, mayor or the demolition company, then we go in and find it. At least the endoskeleton should still be whole.” He flipped through his papers, “They also had parts of…”

The Phone Guy’s voice drifted off as he heard a swell of commotion from behind himself. At first it was low confusion, but soon he heard a demanding yell accompanied by upset uproar. He looked over his shoulder, causing the mechanic to mimic him in matching confusion. A moment after looking to see what was going on a guy stormed into the office. He had an expression that read he was thoroughly pissed off about something. Considering what they were trying to bring back, all three immediately had an idea what it was about. They’d gotten letters in the past, but this was the first time that someone had stormed into their location. Phone Guy and Herald had faintly worried about this happening, but threw it off as an over exaggerated worry. Yet here they were. 

Behind him, Phone Guy could see a few of the construction workers trailing the intruder in an aggravated manner. To avoid a fight Phone Guy made a motion for them to stay out, they thankfully complied. The sounds of swears and yelling were still heard; however, as the mechanic blocked the man off. He held his hands up to show he didn’t want a fight, “Woah, what’s with you, you just can’t-”

The significantly shorter Hispanic man didn’t falter in his aggression, pointing to the mechanic sharply, teeth bared, “Back off, I’m here to give a piece of my mind to your boss. Move aside or I’ll deck you.”

Keeping his hands up the mechanic backed down. He was the bigger guy, taller and more built than this man, but he was by no means a fighter. If anything he’d rather avoid confrontation, but he would try and hold the man back if he did attack. Giving a brisk nod with a submissive grin, the mechanic carefully moved aside from the man’s warpath. The intruder gave the older man a look over before continuing forward to the desk, where Herald was sitting apprehensively. 

The Phone Guy gave the mechanic a disapproving look, to which the man flashed an apologetic grin before the two looked to the intruder as he began to speak. As he did the Phone Guy couldn’t help but notice he looked familiar…

“Herald Griffith?” The man questioned the older gentleman, voice stiff, his eyes scrutinizing every visible inch of him like he was looking at garbage.

Not wanting to bend under the angry glare Herald answered evenly, “That’s me yes.”

“Good, just making sure I’m gonna be yelling at the right guy.” The man stated heatedly as he placed both of his hands on his desk. Herald open his mouth to remark but the intruder spoke quicker and with more force, “stop trying to bring back Freddy’s now.”

The force of his words was enough to leave the room shocked. The tone was downright commanding. Phone Guy and the mechanic stared at the man. While Herald, once he regained himself, was insulted by the audacity. “What gives you the right to tell me what to do with what I own?” He demanded.

The man seemed to ignore the owner’s words and continued with his demanding tone, this time looking from Herald to the two others. “All three of you should just leave this alone.” He looked from one to the next, to the next, letting a brief pause hang in the air. Speaking again, words steeled even more than before, and this time with warning, “There’s a reason why Freddy’s kept shutting down, and you idiots should follow the example.”

His words left a foreboding feeling in the air. It was true, for one reason or another the Fazbear franchise had an infamous reputation for shutting down. Especially the later iterations, each version shut down quicker than the last. Fazbear’s Fright didn’t even get to open before it was burned down. Recalling this, Phone Guy to finally recognize their intruder. He let out a gasp of realization drawing the man’s attention. Who looked at him critically.

“You’re Isaac Vargas!” The Phone Guy exclaimed pointing at the interloper. The others looked at him with negatively new perspective. Giving Isaac a bad look the Phone Guy narrowed his eyes, “You’re the one that burned down Fazbear’s Fright!” He motioned to the two others in the room then himself, “Why should we listen to a maniac that burned a whole building down?”

Isaac looked at his challenger with a narrowed yet even gaze. The accusation not bothering him, he had expected it. He huffed plainly, undaunted, “Yeah it was me, and I still don’t regret burning that damn place down.” Shifting his gaze away from the Phone Guy and back to the manager, Isaac leaned slightly forward on his desk, “Whether you’re doing this for money or some nostalgic reason. I don’t care. Leave this alone. It NEEDS to be left alone.” 

Herald Griffith looked at the younger man for a long moment. The force and warning behind his words was intimidating. There was no denying that. Herald had no doubt in his mind that the man could do him harm. However, not only did he have two others in the same room with him, he was also certain it wasn’t Isaac’s goal. It was very clear that he was trying to avoid something. What Herald didn’t understand was what he was trying to prevent. What could possibly happen by reviving Freddy’s? It was place where kids were supposed to have fun and make memories at. The franchise had a…checkered past yes, but it was also important to the town. Hurricane didn’t have much besides Freddy’s. The town needed it, without it the town was forgotten and passed by without a second thought.

“Let me ask you something.” Herald began. Getting no denying words from Isaac he put his hands together on his desk, straightened his posture a little, and asked, “Why, do you want us to stop? You’ve made it very clear that something bad will happen, but what?” He looked right into Isaac’s blue grey eyes, “It’s not about the missing children. You would have mentioned that if you were upset about…” 

Herald stopped speaking when Isaac started laughing with bitter amusement. The owner scrunched his brow at this, “What are you laughing about?”

Isaac shook his head, “You, this town.” He pulled back from the desk motioning to everyone present with his hands, even out towards the construction workers, “everyone pretty much acts like it’s taboo to talk about, but,” He grinned in sad disdain, “everyone still sugarcoats what happened. Ever since I moved here…it’s been like “kidnapped” was code word for murdered!” He let took a breath and swallowed his frustration, “but ranting isn’t why I’m here.”

The former night guard actor turned back to the owner’s desk, “But it is part of the reason why I’m here. People die to this damn franchise, call it what you want, but let them rest. Or you’re gonna wake up something you wished you left alone.”

Isaac stiffened when he heard an incredulous laugh from behind him. He should have expected as much. Looking over his shoulder he saw the Phone Guy fighting back another laugh. In annoyed quietness Isaac waited for him to talk. Clearing his throat slightly the dirty blond grinned, “Sorry, thought it was our turn to laugh.” 

He chuckled while looking the guy’s expression over to be sure he was serious, “Are you actually telling us you believe that Fazbear’s is haunted? You actually believe those old rumors? Is that why you burned down Fazbear’s Fright? Thought you saw a ghost? You know, people usually try exorcisms for that.”

Phone Guy’s amusement died when Isaac shot him a serious look. In the back of the Isaac’s mind a haunting screech played out while he spoke, “You’d have done the same if you put up with what I did for a week.” He looked at the owner, “I can already guess what you’re going to do. Stay away from Fazbear’s Fright, both you and your gophers.”

Phone Guy stiffened at the insulting name, raising his hackles ready to snap a comment back but the robotics mechanic held a hand up. That was enough to get the blond to back down, albeit irately. 

Isaac kept his eye contact with the owner, but Herald didn’t back down. He exhaled, keeping eye contact with the man, “If that’s the last of what you have to say.” With a hand he motioned to the doorway, “You can leave.” Isaac’s eyes widened in disbelief and frustration. “If you don’t I’ll be forced to call the police.”

Isaac stared at the owner in shock before he narrowed his eyes right back down, “You know what. Fine.” He backed up, hands in the air as a sign he was conceding. “I’m through dealing with Fazbear bullshit.” Isaac shot Herald Griffith a stone cold look, “When you have a real monster on your hands, when it’s staring you down…whatever it does is on your hands. It’s body count will be your body count.”

With that Isaac turned on his heels and began walking out of his office, roughly huffing, “And when it does happen, don’t come crying to me!”

Phone Guy looked to the mechanic who did a circle around the side while whistling. The stint got the Phone Guy to laugh a little until their boss called for their attention again.

“Alright then, back to business.” His two workers nodded in agreement. Herald looked to the younger man, Phone Guy, “I’ll do what I can to get permission to see the site. You get yourself and some helpers ready.”

Phone Guy nodded, “You got it boss.”

“And you,” Herald Griffith continued looking to his mechanic, “get to looking at the parts I want a cost estimate by tomorrow.”

“On it.” The mechanic said before immediately walking out the doorway and heading to where the parts were being stored for the moment. Quickly all three went back to working on reviving the pizzeria, quickly dismissing the warning they’d be given.


	2. Salvage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going against Isaac Vargas's warnings, Phone Guy takes a group to the ruins of Fazbear's Fright in search of Springtrap...leading to a gruesome discovery.

“H-Hey! I found it…I found it!” The Phone Guy yelled, sounding very enthused about his discovery. There were thuds of rubble scrapping and tumbling away in quick succession as he moved the broken cement and brick away. Hearing the excitement, the Phone Guy’s cohorts moved over beside him. Wrenching one big chunk of cement away, the others looked inside a previously buried ventilation shaft. Phone Guy had a wide, beaming, smile on his face as he got a better look at his find, “I found the animatronic they had! And the endoskeleton is still in one piece”

Almost all the way inside the vent was a dingy, dirty, golden-yellow, animatronic bunny…at least it was presumably yellow, the ash and dirt made it difficult to tell. The suit covering the complex endoskeleton was ratty, rotting, and covered in holes. While the torso and the rest had been spared from the fire, the legs were scorched and bare of any fabric that had covered them. The way the animatronic was lying inside the vent caused Phone Guy to think of a dead body, helped by the way it was rotting and the skeletal metal legs. It almost looked like it had been trying to escape…

What had the thing been called again? Springtrap? 

“How did it get into the vent…?” A helper asked sounding confused.

“Well with all the rubble, guess it got knocked in.” Someone suggested as he looked at all the debris.

Someone coughed then gave a disgusted groan, “Oh god, what is that smell?”

The Phone Guy wrinkled his nose in agreement, the animatronic was giving off an absolutely reeking odor. He shook his head trying to remove it from his nose. With disheveled dirty blond hair, he wiped his sweating brow, “Probably the smell of the suit rotting. Come’on we need to pull it out. The demolition crew isn’t giving us a lot of time to try and salvage stuff, and no way in hell am I letting them toss this into a dump.”

After a bit of bickering a helper, whom gave a faint groan, was chosen. Taking one metal leg each the two pulled back and heaved it out from the vent. Scraping noises ensued, first of metal on metal then metal on hard concrete ground. The Phone Guy frowned seeing bits of matted suit fur trail behind, they really needed to get this neglected hybrid animatronic fixed. 

Phone Guy shook his head looking down at the decaying animatronic, it was sad the former owner of Fazbear Entertainment had to sell the franchise. Though with all the bad publicity the chain had gone through it was no surprise. Thankfully the new owner, Herald Griffith, wanted to revitalize the franchise, keep it as close to the original as possible. Freddy’s still had plenty of fans and keeping things close to how it once was would bring them back. Ironically, there were also a good amount of people who liked the dark rumors behind the pizzeria. Phone Guy found that strange but whatever brought in costumers was fine by him.

Getting permission to look through the site had been more difficult than had been expected. The owner of the construction crew had been purposefully difficult. The man just wanted to tear the place down and be done with it. Phone Guy felt he shared Isaac Vargas’s feelings towards the franchise, that there was something wrong with it. 

Regardless of the time crunch, they’d found some metal parts that’d be used to rebuild the animatronics. Now they wouldn’t go to waste and they’d be able to keep some authenticity. Before this, they’d searched for parts that’d been sold off. Locating the old part had been like pulling teeth, difficult and frustrating. Finding Springtrap was like hitting the jackpot. Hopefully fixing it up to be Spring Bonnie again would attract more fans, maybe even the older generation from the original restaurant. They had the blue prints for all of the models. Remaking them was only a matter of money, which thankfully Griffith had.

“Okay, let’s get this big guy to the truck.” Phone Guy said, as he mentally readied himself for his nose to be assaulted by the horrid smell. Lifting the animatronic by the arm, two others helped him carry the metal contraption. The blond wholeheartedly agreed with the groaning this time. The wretched smell was even worse now that he was close up, the man nearly gagged this time, and swore he felt bile riding up in his throat. This thing seriously needed a suit change and then a bath in perfume.

It was a literal and figurative weight off his shoulder when they deposited Springtrap into the back of the truck. Another minute and the Phone Guy was certain he’d have puked his guts out. He rubbed his nose as if to dislodge the foul smell. Phone Guy shook his head to clear it and got into the driver’s seat.

“You owe me big time for this.” The guy in the passenger seat muttered to him, looking sweaty and disgusted at the moment. He hadn’t been too pleased with helping haul Springtrap. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Phone Guy droned as he turned the key in the ignition, starting up the truck before driving away.

 

Returning to what was to be the new Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, Phone Guy parked his truck and looked out the window. Construction workers were still moving about, working to finish up the near done building. A few where standing against the front of the building on break, taking sips of their water while idly chatting. Once the building itself was ready, the fun of decorating would begin. They also had to finish up the security office, the electrical wiring would be finish soon then it was just the matter of tech setup. Though personally Phone Guy didn’t understand why a pizzeria would need one but it’d become a staple of the Freddy’s, and they didn’t want to disappoint the fans. Then again they may need a night guard with how some people weren’t happy about the restaurant coming back. Last thing they needed was to open up and find smashed animatronics. Better safe than sorry.

Hearing another car pulling up Phone Guy turned his head and saw the others park next to his truck. One by one the three others got out of the larger truck. Moving to stand in front of the group Phone Guy clapped his hands together, rubbing them as he gave instruction, “Okay, let’s get everything to the safe room then you guys can head home.”

“You mean the storage room?” One of the guys asked, far as he knew the future pizzeria didn’t have a safe or would need one. At least not one room-sized.

Phone Guy nodded, “Yeah that’s the one.” Looking to the bed of his truck he let out a long sigh, he wasn’t going to enjoy this, “Big one first.”

A pair of groans came from guys who’d helped carrying the animatronic. Phone Guy inwardly rolled his eyes before dully saying, “Hey, I’m not thrilled about it either.”

“Let’s just get this over with…” One of his helpers grumbled as he moved back to the truck bed. He bristled at the thought of touching the blasted thing again, it was utterly filthy. Even someone who lived in a literal dump would consider the thing gross. As he reached his arms into the bed to lift the ratty animatronic up he noticed something.

The man chuckled, “Wow, they even put fake guts inside it. Ha, maybe that horror attraction would’ve been good if it hadn’t been burned down.”

“Maybe.” Phone Guy agreed spotting the fake guts, they’d have to remove that. He gagged as he helped hoist the putrid thing from the truck. A buzzing alerted him that a fly had caught wind of the smelly suit. He groaned in annoyance, a fly, that’s exactly what he needed bothering him while he carried this thing inside. Once the third helper grabbed up the metal feet, to keep them from scrapping along the ground, they carried the animatronic into the building while the two others grabbed the parts.

As they entered the building the bunny animatronic, that looked like something more out of a horror movie than a pizzeria for families, quickly became the center of attention. Mutters and hushed whispers began stirring among the hired work crew. Most were surprised to see the animatronic but others were unnerved, Phone Guy could see it in their expressions. Two were exchanging wary glances, muttering to each other. Saying what Phone Guy wasn’t sure. There was evident disapproval on one’s face as he shot a brief look at the dirty blond, but said nothing. Phone Guy ignored the negative whispers and looks, the stench coming from the animatronic being easily more overpowering. He’d only be carrying the thing around for a few minutes and his nose was already begging for him to put it down. 

Navigating the bare halls, they came to the storage/safe room. It was a small room filled crats and boxes. The more durable crates were filled with animatronics parts, while boxes contained various things such as supplies to be used for decorating later. Phone Guy and helper rested Springtrap on a pile of crates, the only thing that could serve as a table of sorts. Phone Guy instructed the third who’d been assisting them to go get his boss. Eager to get away from the smelly bot the man nodded and left. 

Phone Guy watched him go before looking back to Springtrap, it was hard to imagine that it once entertained kids. Then again he’d only seen it in this deteriorated state. Phone Guy wiped his dirtied fingers on his pants. Flecks of fake fur, rust, something else had rubbed off onto his hand while carrying the bot. Didn’t matter, he was going to shower later today anyway. Still, he somehow doubted one shower would rid him of the smell. Then again that was what cologne or body spray was for.

Looking at the animatronic brought something else to mind, looking to his helper he laughed, “Hey, remember that guy that burned Fazbear’s fright?”

The man quirked a brow in confusion, “Yeah why?”

“He came by the site a while back.” Phone Guy chuckled amusedly, he waved his hands spookily in the air, “saying that bad things would happen if we didn’t leave this alone.” He laughed, “Like some freaking crazy old guy from a cliché horror movie.”

With a shake of his head the man gave laugh of amusement, “Wow, really?” 

He snorted shaking his head again, “I swear, half of this town is too superstitious.” The man thought for a moment, taking the quiet nature of the town into consideration. “Then again, nothing much happens here. Bound to leave an impression I guess.” He shrugged, not really caring. The past was in the past no need to worry about it. “Anyway, I gotta go. Joana and I are going out tonight and I can’t go out smelling like…” He motioned to Springtrap in revulsion, “that thing.”

Phone Guy shook his head wistfully, “Hard to think you’ve been married a year now.”

A snort, “Hard to believe your still hung up on this place,” before Phone Guy could retort the man waved good-bye and left the room saying, “see yah around.”

After a couple more things of parts were dropped off by his two other helpers Phone Guy was left alone with the crates, boxes, and Springtrap. He waited patiently for his boss to arrive, most likely with the mechanic. Phone looked back to the withered animatronic, almost feeling sorry for the state that it was in. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel creeped out by its permanent grin that it had. A grin created by its mouth covering being worn away by time. Being sat upright, it was grinning at him almost wickedly. Yet its eyes were closed like when they had found it, but Phone Guy couldn’t help the feeling that it was looking at him, grinning. Feeling on edge he looked around, like he’d spot something else but there was nothing else but crates and boxes. 

Why did he have this feeling? Like something else was with him?

He didn’t show it but Phone Guy was relieved when his boss, a man shorter than him, walked in with the taller mechanic. The height difference did nothing to diminish his air of authority, nor did the slight belly he had, as he carried his head high and shoulders squared. The suit he wore gave him an important presence, and the fitting showed there was still some remaining build of his prime. Phone Guy couldn’t help but smirk proudly when he saw his boss’s eyes lit up upon seeing Springtrap sitting on the crates.

“You found him!” Herald exclaimed, both sounding and looking amazed. Phone Guy couldn’t blame him, he had his doubts about the animatronic surviving despite his own sureness. He’d half expected something major to be broken but luck had been on their side. His boss moved closer, swaying his head to get a glance over from where he was, “And he’s in one piece too!”

“That we did boss.” Phone Guy stated with an elated grin before he looked to the tattered suit covered endoskeleton. 

Herald’s excited expression evened as he eyed the suit, it’s condition was beginning to make him doubtful. “Does it still work?”

Phone Guy opened his mouth to answer but paused unsurely, “I’m not sure...” quickly he explained, “the construction crew was already working on demolishing the site. We didn’t exactly have time to test it.”

The man’s boss grunted in affirmation. He looked at the robotics mechanic next to him then nodded towards the suit, “Well, let’s have look see. Crack it open Clifton.”

Clifton Schwartz, the mechanic, blinked having been staring at the animatronic before nodding. As he neared, tool box in hand, the smell he’d been picking up from his prior position only intensified. He waved a hand in front of his face, trying to get rid of the stench, “Holy crap, this thing reeks. You sure you didn’t pick it up from a dump Greg?”

Phone Guy, Gregory Scott, rolled his eyes, “Don’t call me Greg, and surprisingly no.”

Clifton set his bright red tool box on the crates, jostling the tools resting inside, he shook his head, “You’re the only guy I know who prefers Gregor over Greg.” Gregor rolled his eyes again, but said nothing as he curiously watched Clifton look over the battered shell of the animatronic. Clifton scrunched his nose, poking at the suit, “I can tell you this, its gonna need a new suit.”

“No really…” Gregor dully mused, his sarcasm dry as his expression, which was completely ignored by the mechanic.

Spotting what was strewn the animatronic Clifton frowned irately, “Did those idiots really have to put the fake guts inside like that? I can hardly tell where it starts and were it begins!” He gave a loud huff, “Doing shit like this will seriously mess with the animatronic! It’ll tangle upside and mess things up. Not to mention melt if the stuff is cheap enough.” The mechanic grumbled something to himself that the other two couldn’t make out. 

With a tired sigh he moved to take off the ripped up chest cover. Gregor knitted his brows as he saw the mechanic fiddle carefully with something at the collar of the suit. Whatever he was doing he was being meticulous about it, the shifting of his hands slow and precise. After a while curiosity and impatience caused the Phone Guy to ask, “What are you doing that’s taking so long?”

Clifton immediately snatched his hand away from the suit, like it was going to bite him. Gregor guy had nearly caused him to mess up some dangerously delicate work. Clifton looked back at the younger man with a rare expression of reprimand, causing the Phone Guy to stall. A long slow exhale came from Clifton, “I’m trying to disengage the spring locks.” He waved a hand, “And I want to keep my hands.”

Understanding now Gregor watched as the mechanic went back to carefully fiddling with the suit casing. Fazbear animatronic suits were notoriously dangerous, if he was going to get a look at it, he’d have to be careful. Something which Clifton went on to explain aloud, “Since this is one of the original suits. It’s a hybrid, it uses spring locks so that it can go into costume mode. They’re very testy, one wrong move could result in injury or worse.”

Gregor remained silent, unwilling to risk causing an accident. Clifton worked in a quiet focus as he dealt with the locks. While doing so he coughed and snorted as he fought to endure the reeking stench. Eventually he stepped back with a relieved sigh, “Okay I got them. I’ll remove the cover. After that I’ll be able to get a look at the parts.”

“Will you be able to get that mess out of him?” Herald asked as he undid the latches at the shoulders.

“Yeah I should be, it’s gonna take forever though-” Clifton’s words halted when upon popping open the chest piece as he was assaulted by an even stronger scent. 

Reflex took over and the mechanic reeled back gagging strong enough that it sounded like he was trying to hack up his guts. The chest covering he’d been holding fell to the ground with light thuds. Those thus were still strong enough to set off the spring locks. Herald and Gregor jumped as loud snapping noises resounded from the torso, the mechanical parts inside going wild. Snaps went off one after another sounding like gun shots going off in the room. The startled panic settled once the writhing suit torso settled with one final resounding snap. 

Clifton gripped his knees fighting the urge to spill his breakfast, he felt so ill that he hadn’t even noticed the spring locks going berserk. Both of his cohorts were so shocked by the sudden incident they only just caught wind of the smell and just as soon recoiled. The only way to describe was of something dead and decaying. It was bad enough that Gregor briefly felt bile rise in his throat before he forced it back. Coughing he looked back to Springtrap to see just what was causing the foul odor. 

What he’d thought to have been fake guts, while hidden by the suit, Gregor could now see were not fake. Holding the rotting meat together was a ribcage, broken in a couple of places, with the flesh hanging off of it like torn curtains. Withered organs and wires were sharing housing within the cage made of bone. What was left of the guts were coiled and torn around metal rods. The sight was the ghastliest and horrifying thing any of them had ever seen. 

Horrifying as the reveal was, it posed one major question. Who’d this carcass belong to?

Gregor looked at Clifton as he continued to gagged and wretch, stumbling over to the nearest bare concrete wall for support. Fine white powdery dust of fresh concrete rubbed off onto his fingers but that wasn’t even on his radar of concerns. Gregor was almost baffled to see the mechanic like this. He’d always seemed so sturdy, like not even a bull could knock him down. Upon smelling death, he looked ill and frail. 

Egged on by concern the Phone Guy moved over to him, hesitantly tilting his head to get a look at his face while asking, “You okay?” 

“I’ll live…” The brunette mechanic answered with a couple of coughs. Wiping his mouth Clifton lifted himself back up and turned his head back to the wretched sight he’d revealed. It didn’t take him even a minute to recall the missing children. While he was no anthropologist or a coroner, Clifton could still tell that the body inside was no child. The ribs were far too big. Covering his mouth with a fist Clifton fought back a cough, “That’s not a child, that’s for sure.”

In light of the situation the Gregor felt the mechanic’s answer to his worry was a bit inappropriate. Still, he had a point, looking back at the carcass it was clear that it was an adult. The flesh was oddly well preserved, the look of it was very close to jerky-the smell was no less appalling though. If it wasn’t one of the lost children, then it could only mean one thing…

“They never found the real murderer,” Clifton said, voicing Gregor’s own thoughts. 

He ventured back to the trapped carcass. Carefully as if it might bite the mechanic lowered Springtrap’s lower jaw, sure enough he saw a human skull stuck inside. Wires and cables were sticking in and out of it like a pincushion. He didn’t dare look towards the eyes though. Clifton didn’t need to see them to know something gruesome happened when the animatronics’ eyes and the human eyes fought for the same space. Looking back, Clifton finished speaking, “I think we found him.”

“Wonderful…” Gregor muttered looking at the murderer’s body.

Phone Guy and the mechanic continued talking, but their words just seemed to be background noise to Herald Griffith as he stared at the withered Spring Bonnie. No that thing wasn’t the bunny from the golden era of Fazbear entertainment. This was Springtrap a withered husk that served as a tomb for a what was likely a sick, twisted man of a monster. At that moment, his own choice of words halted his train of thought, his eyes widened a fraction, his heartrate picked up slightly. Isaac Vargas’s words of warning played forebodingly in his mind. Somehow they didn’t seem like the of words from a mad man as they had before,

“When you have a real monster on your hands, staring you down…whatever it does is on your hands. It’s body count will be your body count. And when it does happen, don’t come crying to me!”

Herald felt a nip of coldness enter his blood. His deep brown eyes looked Springtrap over, worry fogging his eyes. Was this the thing Isaac had been warning them about? But, how? How could a rotting animatronic be a threat? Heart fretfully fidgeting in his chest his eyes roamed around as his mind tried to figure out whether it believed the arsonist’s words. His employees still seemed to be talking but their presence was barely even noted by Herald now. 

The new owner of Fazbear entertainment froze in place when he heard a struggling, rasping, and distorted voice speak up out of seemingly thin air. Words weak but hauntingly resilient,

“W…k gak….hk…hhh…m-hhh-e…”

Hearing creaks of old, rusted, mechanical parts moving Griffith slowly dragged his eyes back to Springtrap. Utter horror befell him when he saw the animatronic looking right at him. There was an eerie, unnatural glow to its eyes. Leaving it no mistake that it was looking at him. Its head gave unnatural twitches at random making them appear involuntary and almost painful. Suddenly it’s shoulder gave a jerk, wheezing as it lurched its arm forward to grip the edge of the crates it was sitting on. Terrified Herald couldn’t take his eyes off the creature but he heard Clifton yell in surprise. Springtrap didn’t even glance at him as it lashed one of its arms outward knocking him back with ease.

Wheezing in a sickly manner, each breath and movement seeming to be tasking Springtrap pushed itself off the crates. Each metal foot met the concrete with a sound thud. For a moment the withered animatronic swayed there as if it had dazed itself by standing. It lowering its head, bunny ears slumping forward, as a metallic, gutter growl oozed out of its old voice box. It wheezed something that faintly sounded like words again as it shambled forward each jerky movement horrid, seeming unnaturally rushed.

Herald blinked once as he took a step back. Suddenly, in the time he blinked, Springtrap was upon him. The animatronic loomed over him, eyes gleaming with unnatural malice as they twitched around inside the mask. The permanent grin jittered when the animatronic’s jaw jerked from side to side, popping once as it clamped its jaws together. Joints grinded together inside the possessed robot, weak from not being used for so long, yet the thing seemed like it could snap Herald in half. The smell, and the smell, it was unbearable at such a close range. 

“Y-hhh-ou…w-hrk me!” The spring lock animatronic wheezed forcefully, voice rough with anger. Though the bot wore a grin but its eye lids were slanted in rage making the grin look more menacing than gleeful. 

Herald wanted to move, wanted to run but his body seemed to be literally frozen with terror. His blood was cold, body shaking in fear. Unable to react he could not move out of the way when Springtrap grabbed him by the throat, hoisting him into air, shrieking his unintelligible message again,

“Y-hhh-ou…w-hrk me!” Somehow this time the animatronic managed to sound even more furious. Its distorted, seemingly static filled rage was making Herald’s ears begin to ring but he couldn’t bring his hands up to cover them. 

He finally got his body to do something, let out a weak whine of fear when the animatronic’s jaws began to open. Revealing the decaying skull inside more and more as they pulled apart. He began repeating no over and over, begging the animatronic not to expose him to the sight. The skull of the murderer, impaled by cables, wires snaking in and out of the eyes and jaw, glared at his next victim. The glowing in the eyes intensified, turning a furious, burning red. The skull, Springtrap, shrieked as it lunged its jaws forward aiming to take a bite out of the man’s neck.

“Boss!”

Herald Griffith snapped his eyes shut then opened them with a start. He looked around wildly, the scene had changed entirely. Everything was normal again. Clifton was standing by crates with Springtrap, the animatronic seeming like it hadn’t moved at all. Indisposed as it should be. Gregor, the one that had snapped him from his hallucination, was looking at him confusedly with hints of worry flickering in his slate grey eyes. 

Herald shook his head in attempt to shake off the cold sweat clinging to him, “Sorry, what did you say?

Gregor looked at him a moment before slowly repeating himself, “We were wondering what we should do with the body…should we hand it over to the police?”

“No,” Came the quick and blunt answer from Herald. The two other men looked at him surprised. He shook his head, “If this became public, it’d dig up what happened again and ruin any chances we have of reviving Freddy’s successfully. There’d be protests about the restaurant reopening. We’re already having a hassle ensuring it’ll be safe now. More than thirty years after the disappearances!”

“Pretty sure it’s safe to say murders by now…” Clifton commented dryly, the two other men gave him a look. Grinning awkwardly, he apologized, “Sorry.”

“All the more reason to distance ourselves from the incident.” The Herald said carefully, voice hushed like he was trying not to be overheard. His mind was still trying to suppress what he had envisioned. Trying to shove the terror he still felt to the back of his mind to be forgotten.

“What do we do with this then?” The Phone Guy questioned confusedly, motioning to the carcass that was behind him.

“We don’t need this room,” The owner started stiffly. Herald turned away to stop looking at the horrifying sight, to avoid Springtrap’s haunting visage. To ignore the feeling that it was watching him. “Put the torso piece back on, lock its joints, and then seal this room. Remove all the electronics. I don’t want any evidence that this room exists left behind!”

Standing at the doorway Herald looked back to the two, “Can I trust you two to keep quiet about this?”

The Gregory Scott looked at the other man still in the room. The second one seemed uncertain but the first nodded, “Yeah, you can count on me boss.”

“Clifton?” The Griffith questioned to his mechanic, his voice having a hint of firmness at the very edge.

Clifton ruffled his hair forcing an answer out of his mouth with a rough exhale, “Yeah, sure I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

The owner eyed his worker for a moment before inwardly deciding he was being honest and left. They’d regret this decision, not right away but they would come to regret it down the line. 

Gregor would regret ignoring the feeling that Springtrap was watching him as he left the small backroom. A cold burning gaze staring at the back of neck, he brushed it off as remains of the intense moment of their discovery. Telling himself the he hadn’t heard it twitch, that he hadn’t heard a weak wheeze come from it. No, it was all in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've also written a one-shot that coincides with this AU called "A Real Monster" if your interested in reading more Five Nights At Freddy's from me.


	3. Assembly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Springtrap has been sealed away in the safe room once again. Awhile passes and Freddy Fazbear and his friends are rebuilt, and strange things begin happening already in the Pizzeria.

Music was playing in the animatronic repair room at the newly constructed Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. The paint crisply lying on the walls, a pleasant pastel blue, with dots of pink, yellow, and white specks meant to look like confetti. Tiles black and white like a chess board still shiny and new waiting to be broken in. The metal shelves were unmarred by scratches, and housed spare parts for the animatronics. On one shelf was a row of masks, hollow shells ready to be fitted with parts. This left a rather haunting visages of empty eyed animals, a red fox, white fox, chicken, bear, bunny, and a child. At the end of the row was a simple jester mask. On other shelves were boxes of various mechanical parts. 

Against another wall was a metal table with the blue prints for the animatronic Clifton was currently working on. It was the last one he needed to finish. Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Balloon Boy, the Puppet and Mangle were already complete. Although with Mangle Clifton considered “finished” to be a bit of a strong word. Considering that it’ll be taken apart constantly. At least he managed to adjust its build to be more actually meant for it to be taken apart. Ball joints really helped with that he felt, but still he’d need to replace parts on it more often in the future. He felt a bit sad for the poor white fox. He had a kid of his own and he knew the utter hell kids could put their toys through. 

Regardless of his thoughts he was hard at work finishing the animatronic, he’d saved the best for last. The titular Freddy Fazbear. Personally he was more of a Foxy fan but Freddy was a close second. The bear was the mascot after all-hard not to like him at least a little. Not to mention he was a little dapper with his top hat and bow tie. At the moment he was doing a little fine tuning on Freddy’s endoskeleton. While each endoskeleton was the same, some tuning had to be done for the individual characters. Didn’t want a Chica moving and sounding like Freddy. An endoskeleton was a blank slate that needed to be molded into the specific character.

Clifton hummed along with the song’s tune, not really paying attention to the lyrics at the moment. His mind was focused on his work, it had more important things to process than the words of a song. He focused vision to one point he slowly turned his screw driver, turning a screw until it was tightly in its socket. With a smile he pulled back and admired his handy work. 

“There, voice box in.” He said to himself.

He rubbed his chin, running a mental check list though his mind. Snapping his fingers, he set down his screwdriver and went over to a bin sitting on of the shelves. From inside it he pulled out two blue animatronic eyes. Turing back to the endoskeleton he quickly screwed them into place. Going around to the back of the head he did a quick test on their response time. 

“Alright, first the left one,” the left eye winked, “good, now right,” wink from right, “and the blink.” Clifton smiled as the endoskeleton blinked on cue. He cheered eager to put on the finishing touches, “Alright! Let’s get the suit on.”

Piece by piece he put the animatronic’s costume on, which was a bit more tedious than one would think. Clifton had to make sure each piece was properly attached to avoid it slipping off, didn’t need Freddy’s hand flying off during a show. All while avoiding hurting himself with the beams and cross wires. He’d already cut his finger while suiting Bonnie up, just a little cut on the finger but boy did it sting. Once the bear was suited up Clifton set Freddy’s top hat on his head, bow tie on his chest and lastly his microphone in his hand. It was just a prop but was also the final piece. 

Putting some back into it, Clifton put Freddy on a moving dolly and then wheeled the animatronic out of the mechanic room’s and to the stage. The main show stage was just outside his repair room. He had to go through the backstage in order to get the heavy bot up onto the actual stage. The backstage was where all the magic happened, there the door to the control room was. Hidden away from the eyes of the children that would soon watch Freddy and his gang’s show. Humming the tune of the song he’d been listening to Clifton dropped Freddy Fazbear off at the head of the trio.

Stopping a moment Clifton looked out at the main party room, long rows of tables stood bare for the time being. The size of the room made it look grander than it was. From left to right Clifton scanned the room, he chuckled to himself as he spotted a few drawings tapped up to the wall. Since they weren’t open yet they of course weren’t drawn by children, but rather by the few staff members they had at the moment. Namely Gregor and himself, but honestly with their skill it was hard to tell that it wasn’t children that had drawn them. It was to help encourage children to allow theirs to be put up. Amusingly enough Gregor, who was a bit snippy at times, had gotten a bit too enthused about it. He had managed to draw twice the amount than Clifton had, which was three. Then again Gregor had more free time, even if he was head of security for the pizzeria. Seeing as they weren’t open yet, there wasn’t much to secure. Until now with the animatronics finished. Hopefully finished that is, he still had some startup tests to run. 

Heading back to the backstage Clifton resumed humming to himself, letting the dark drape over him as he moved along. He stopped when he heard a noise, a soft mournful noise. Standing still a moment, the mechanic fixed a look of confusion his face. He’d just caught the sound at the tail end of it. Having a child of his own he knew it sounded like the weeping of a child. A noise that tugged at his heart. Clifton looked over his shoulder before he turned his whole self around. Clifton searched for the source of the sound but there was none. He was alone behind the tall red curtains of the main stage.

Clifton rubbed his calloused hand on the back of his head, brows still creased in confusion as he muttered to himself, “Must have imagined it…” Shaking his head the mechanic shrugged it off.

Knowing that Gregor would want to see him run the startup tests Clifton exited the back stage and headed to the security office. The small room was tucked away just behind the reception desk. Walking down the hall, his heels’ clacking on the linoleum floor with a subtle echo sounding back to him. Coming near the doorway to the office Clifton perked, hearing the sound of a phone being picked up. He chuckled softly as his cohort began going through his answering spiel, Phone Guy really was a suiting nickname for him.

“Hello, hello, this is Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, I’m Gregor, how can I help you? Are you calling about one of our open job opportunities?” Gregor greeted casually as he leaned back in his chair. It was a rather standard rolling chair but it was comfortable enough. Feet perched on the security office desk he listened as the person gave their response. Nodding he pulled his feet down, scooted back up to the desk, and looked at the schedule sheet that was in front of him, “Oh hello miss Hudson, yes, we saw your resume and we think you’d fit right into the night shift.”

Listening to the person’s response Gregor blinked spotting Clifton standing in the doorway of his office. Holding up a finger, indicating he needed a minute, Gregor continued his conversation with the possible employee, “Yes, we’d like to give you an interview soon as we can.” Writing the appointment down on the calendar he nodded, “Good, good, me and my boss will see you a couple weeks from now for your interview miss Hudson. Have a good day.”

Hanging up the phone on its home port Gregor swiveled his chair over to the side to face his cohort, “Hey Clifton, what is it?”

“Just thought you, our resident fan boy,” Clifton stifled an amused chuckle when Gregor shot him an irate look before rolling his eyes. Holding the sides of the door way the mechanic nodded his head towards the main stage, Gregor following the action with his eyes, “would like to know that I’ve finished building the last animatronic.”

The news got the guard to sit upright, expression surprised, “You already finished Freddy? That was fast!”

Clifton grinned, proud of himself and his success, “Well, after doing Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy I had the method down pat for the main guy. Come’on I’m going to run the startup tests after I get the boss, thought you might want to see how it goes.”

Gregor stood up but then his glimmer of excitement halted a moment, he looked at the mechanic carefully, “Wait, I’m not going to get smacked like the last time when you were working on Chica am I…?”

Clifton frowned in vague annoyance, feeling like he was being accused of something, “I told you not to stand so close while I was testing her arm responses. That was on you.”

The guard placed a hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it tentatively hearing the reprimanding tone in Clifton’s voice, “Okay, you’re right. Sorry about that.” He smiled at his cohort in hopes of amending the tension he’d made, “I’ll come see them get started up, but I’m going to keep an ear out for phone calls.”

Watching Gregor gesture to the phone Clifton uttered a soft chuckle, letting the past insult slide with ease, “Course you will, you’re the Phone Guy!”

“Still don’t know how I feel about that nickname…” Gregor commented dully, as he followed the mechanic out of the room. Recalling Clifton’s given reason of why he thought to tell him the guard shot the mechanic a look, “And I’m not a fan boy.”

“So that’s why you have a little figure of each of them on the security desk, and why the office is all decorated up with Fazbear merchandise?” Clifton said in a playful teasing manner, jabbing the smaller, younger guy in the side with his elbow. Spying the sharply annoyed look he was getting Clifton gave a light laugh, shaking his head at the younger’s defensiveness, “Calm down, I’m just messing with you.”

“I’m still not a fanboy.” Gregor insisted firmly, he huffed sticking his hands in his pants pocket, “what else should I decorate the office with? I think it’ll help build a family feeling for the other guards we hire.”

Clifton hummed a moment, considering his statement but knew Gregor was just trying to cover up his collecting hobby. He hadn’t known Gregor prior to this, but when he let his guard down he could be an excitable dork. It’d only happened once but Clifton really wanted to see it again. So far his attempts had failed but he wasn’t about to give up. He’d get the guy to loosen up a little. Giving a shrug he responded, “Guess that’d work.”

He glanced at the guard, “By the way nice uniform, very purple.”

Gregor perked at the comment then looked at his outfit the official Fazbear security uniform, it was very purple. It was meant to stand out, so as to be easily identifiable to people. Not that Gregor had any issues with it, he liked the way it looked pretty professional. The work shirt was made of sturdy material, dark purple with black trimming and high collar. On his chest was a golden security badge featuring Freddy. Above it was his name tag. His slacks were also purple, but of a darker color. His cap continued the purple trend, with a black bill, but the front was colorfully decorated with Freddy against what looked like a stage background. Underneath him was a sign looking piece reading “Fazbear Security.”

“I like it.” Gregor stated simply whilst adjusting his black shirt collar. He furrowed his brow looking at the color, “It is a lot though.”

“Hey, it’s good, least it’s not neon purple or something.” Clifton pointed out, cringing a bit at the thought, “that’d be an eyesore, and besides girls like a guy in uniform.”

His words managed an amused snort from Gregor, “I’ll remember that when trying to pick up a girl in a family restaurant.”

“Hey, you never know.” Clifton replied with a light shrug as they entered the main party room. Their boss, of course, was still in his office so the mechanic continued walking, “I’ll go get boss, you take a seat.”

Gregor watched his cohort trot off to the right of the stage and off towards their boss’s office. Looking back to the stage, it was only partly brightened by sunlight streaming in from the two halls leading to the main room. With the partial lighting Bonnie and Chica were left half darkened half not. Standing in the middle Freddy was completely draped in light shadows. Taking the three in as a group it almost seemed like they were scheming something dark, and in the quiet of the room it was somewhat unsettling. Gregor shook his head, tossing the ridiculous feeling to the back of his mind. 

Pulling his hands out of his pockets the guard walked up closer to the stage. Eyeing the three more closely Gregor rubbed his chin a moment, muttering, “Guess I can see why people find them creepy…”

He snorted at his own thoughts. Then blinked looking around, why weren’t the lights on? Yeah they were trying to conserve power until they actually opened but it was past noon. Gregor scratched his hat covered head, in fact he could’ve sworn he turned them on earlier. Unable to remember if he had in fact done so Gregor dismissed the unimportant thought. 

Climbing up onto the stage Gregor moved past Freddy, Bonnie and Chica to the backstage. Passing the shadow line created by the curtain, that sectioned off the back from the frontstage, Gregor went up to a somewhat hidden door. It was hidden enough that children wouldn’t spot it during a show. Knowing it was there it was simple for Gregor to pull open, revealing the control room. 

The room was small, smaller than the security office, and would barely fit more than three people standing side by side. Yet, it was packed with electronic equipment. There was a control desk with a keyboard of buttons, each sectioned off with labels reading Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica. Above them were small television screens that’d display the stage. The video being fed from small cameras placed about the stage, but were on a different channel from the security cameras. 

Unconcerned with the show equipment Gregor turned to what he was here for, the power switches. Against the wall was a panel with labeled power switches, specifically the party rooms to keep children from messing with them during the day, and also the front desk. Above all the other switches was the master switch, meant for rebooting the power in case of a surge. Glancing over the labels Gregor quickly spotted the spotted the one he wanted and flicked it to on. 

With that done he left the control room, shutting the secret door behind him with a sound click. Once again to the unknowing eye the door may as well not be there. With the lights now on the room was awash in pleasant, clear, brightness. It felt more alive now with the shadows chased away. Pleased Gregor let out a soft exhale to himself. Turning his head, he smiled seeing the tall Bonnie standing next to him. The bunny’s hand was poised to start strumming on his guitar, eyes half laden as if bored. 

“Must be good to have the gang back together, hm?” Gregor questioned the robotic bunny. Of course he got no response and he hadn’t expected one. 

Walking to the front of the trio he eased his posture up a bit. Feeling a wave of nostalgia hit him at the sight of the three animatronics he’d admired as a kid finally brought back. He’d never gotten to see the second Fazbear Pizzeria just the third one. Everyone said the second one was better but as a kid he didn’t care about that. Far as he’d been concerned his had been better even if it didn’t have the fancier toy animatronics. 

“What did I say about standing close to the animatronics when I’m going to do tests?” Looking over his shoulder Gregor saw Clifton walking back into the room with their boss. Judging by the smile on his face and light hearted tone he was joking. But his stiff waving him down from the stage said he had some seriousness to his words. 

Obliging his request Gregor hopped down from the stage, simply saying, “Lights were off, I went to turn them on.” 

Clifton blinked seeming to have just realized the lights had been off. Like Gregor he dismissed the fact, deeming it unimportant. Climbing up onto the stage he looked back to the guard, “Thanks.” 

Gregor shrugged subtly in response to the gratitude. Standing up straight Clifton looked to his boss, “Want me to just get at it then?”

Herald Griffith nodded, “Yes, run all the tests you can.” He looked over to the animatronics with a certain carefulness, “I want to be certain all the glitches have been removed.”

Understanding why he was concerned Clifton nodded. One of the main rumors that was pestering them incessantly was the glitches. No parent wanted their child around defective robots, not when the infamous bite of eighty-seven had happened. A brief pang hit the mechanic in the gut, if something like that happened to his…Clifton squashed the thought and nodded again. Gregor gave him a questioning look but he didn’t acknowledge it. Clifton masked his thoughts with a smile, “Sure thing boss, just sit back and enjoy the show.”

Heading back to the control room, Clifton flicked the light on for the room then shut the door behind him. Briefly he noted how small and tightly packed the room was, but it was enough for one person. Pulling the control chair back from the desk he sat down and switched the system on. Seeing through the front stage camera Clifton grinned in anticipation when he saw the animatronics. In the front row seats was the head of security and the manager, both waiting for something to happen. Clifton flexed his fingers a bit before cracking his knuckles, “Show time.”

Out in the party room Gregor and Herald waited patiently for the animatronics to do something. Both sat up when Freddy suddenly lifted his head up, eyes suddenly coming to life. The bear’s jaw moved up and as if having just woken up from a sleep. Bonnie followed shortly after, mouth opening and closing. Finally, Chica awoke her beak shifting its position before turning her head. Freddy turned his head meeting her gaze. After a bit of meet and greet the animatronics arms and hands began moving, up, down, clenching, turning and unfurling.

Herald chuckled as Clifton began having the animatronics march in place to test their leg responses. Next Bonnie began strumming his fake guitar, head bobbing to some unheard music that he was supposed to be playing. The eyed cupcake on Chica’s plate began blinking and opening and closing its mouth, while the chicken holding it swayed her head from side to side seemingly singing. Freddy was waving to the crowd of two, mouthing words as he began turning from side to side, and lifted up his microphone up to his mouth.

“He’s pretty good at this.” Gregor commented to his boss as he watched the silent show, all it needed was the sound and lights. 

Sure enough a moment later the lights in the room flicked off and the show lights turned on. Red, blue, and yellow beams focused down on each of the mascots, red on Bonnie, yellow on Freddy, and blue on Chica. To add to the building party atmosphere a light ball dropped down, and began tossing specks of dancing light around the room. The speakers droned to life and began to play the Freddy Fazbear tune, a catchy, upbeat, welcoming tune clearly meant for children.

There was a brief dull tone when a voice came over the intercom, “Hey kids it’s bit early, but since we have a special party of two, Freddy and the gang have made an exception to put on their show early!” 

“Hm, yes,” Herald said answering to his guard’s previous comment, “And having fun with it.”

Gregor quirked a brow picking up on his boss’s tone, it sounded like he had something in mind. Looking at the moving animatronics he had an idea of what it was. The two went silent as Freddy looked towards them, microphone up to his mouth to create the illusion he was using it. 

The bear’s voice was loud, jovial, and warm even with its mechanical, metallic edge, “Hey kids, it’s time to party! And I heard we have a special birthday boy with us today!”

Gregor frowned noticing the bear was looking at him, “Why is he looking at me?”

His boss’s only response was a subtle laugh, the guard just barely heard over the talking bear, “Let’s wish the birthday boy a great day the best way we know how! Song!”

Herald chuckled seeing the embarrassed annoyance forming on Gregor’s face. Figuring he’d better stop the mechanic before his guard decided to hauled him out Herald spoke up, “Okay, tell him that’s enough.”

“Gladly.” Gregor grumbled, unamused as he began waving his arms, motioning through the cameras for Clifton to stop.

The mechanic seemed to get the message as the animatronics powered off, turning back to their lifeless statue-like states. The show lights turned off and the regular one turned back on, the light ball retreating back from whence it came, and the music shut off. There was a sound of a door opening then shutting and out came Clifton from the hidden room. Still looking amused he grinned despite the guard’s annoyance, “Alright, alright. Does you want me to test the others today or wait till tomorrow?”

“No, this is good enough for now, we still have time before the opening to run the rest of the tests. Not like we’ll be using them until then.” Herald Griffith answered normally, looking at the animatronics. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were staring blankly out ahead of them seemingly focused on the far wall that didn’t even have any drawings on it. 

“Got it.” Clifton answered. He gave a muffled chuckle when he saw the ticked look on the security guard’s face. Not like he didn’t know what had annoyed the younger man, after all he’d done it on purpose. The mechanic held his hands out innocently at his side, “What?”

Gregor rolled his eyes, deciding not to comment back. It’d only encourage the older man somehow. Seeing the boss get up from his seat Gregor watched him go up to Clifton as he got down from the stage. The guard straightened himself in his seat, interested to see how the mechanic would take the offer that was no doubt coming his way. First though, the result of what they’d done this for.

“Everything looked good from where we were sitting, but what do you have to say on it?” Griffith asked.

While running the mental notes he’d made in his mind Clifton rubbed his hands, “Overall they all responded spot on to the commands, but I think I need to tweak Chica a little. Her response time was a little slow.”

“But no issues?” Herald pressed casting a brief glance at the animatronics before looking back to the mechanic as he responded. 

“No, there weren’t any errors. Just a little delay time on our chicken.” Clifton reassured the manager. The man tilted his head towards the bots while continuing with a question of his own, “So now that I’ve finished building them and won’t run any more tests today, guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Herald Griffith tucked his hands behind his back, “Yes, about that. I have a proposal for you Clifton Schwartz.” Quickly he waved his hands to dismiss any thoughts it might be bad, leaving the mechanic looking somewhat confused, “You seemed to be a natural at getting the animatronics to perform.”

“Heh, well when you know a thing or two about programming it’s a little easier. That and knowing what button does what helps.” Clifton answered with a humble shrug. He turned a wondering expression back to his boss, “What are you getting at exactly boss?” 

“I was wondering if you’d like to handle the performances with the animatronics. At least with our three main stars here.” Griffith announced motioning to the trio still standing motionless on stage. The elder gentleman gripped the inner edge of his brown leather jacket, “You’re pay will be adjusted for this. It’d offer a steadier pay income than just when we need repairs or adjustments on the animatronics. Having you repair a broken arcade game or, heaven forbid, a toilet wouldn’t be a good use of your skills.”

Clifton was momentarily silent as he took the news in, slowly he answered, “So your saying I’ll get paid more.”

The manager nodded, “Yes you’ll be getting a more regular income, along with the moments when the animatronics need repair. Take it as a promotion of sorts. From part-time to full-time.”

“But I’ll have to come in more regularly?” Clifton asked, Griffith nodded accordingly. Clifton held his hand out to confirm the deal, “I think I can do that, not like putting on a show for kids will be a bad thing. I accept.”

“Good to hear Mr. Schwartz.” Herald replied shaking the man’s hand.

“Am I going to get a snappy looking uniform too?” Clifton only partly joked, as he pointed at Gregor whom only arched a brow at him. The younger man trying to decide if he was teasing him or not.

“Yes, but yours will be different.” Herald answered casually taking his hand back, “That aside. We’ll be seeing you tomorrow.” He turned his head to Gregor who seemed to have expected it, “You should sign out too, you’ll be covering the night shift until we get more guards.”

Gregor nodded, then he blinked remembering something, “I have the dates of the interviews on the desk in the security office. Do you want me to go get them?”

Herald quickly shook his head, “No I can get it myself.”

The security guard seemed a bit confused by this but dismissed it, one less trivial thing to worry about. “See you tomorrow then.” He said as he began to walk away.

Shortly after Clifton headed out as well. Once the two were gone Herald Griffith was left alone. The three of them were the ones heading the restoration project, a few others that were helping had already left for the day. Shortly before Clifton had finished Freddy. Oh well, their loss, brief as the moment had been it had been magical. Yet, he couldn’t shake the memory of what he’d seen upon finding what lay within Springtrap, ever detail was etched into his mind. It was just a hallucination he knew that much, neither Clifton nor Gregor had seen anything. 

Griffith shook his head, it didn’t matter, Springtrap was sealed away. He’d made sure of that. Soon as possible and fast as possible he’d had the room sealed off. There was no way it could get out.

Pushing the dark looming thoughts as far back as he could into his mind, Griffith walked himself to the security office. In doing so he passed the prize room. The sound of music playing stopped him dead in his tracks. The manager turned his head towards the prize counter, currently devoid of any prizes it looked coldly bare. The lights being turned off only emphasized it. The only eye catching things were Balloon Boy, his smile ever present, and his eyes almost looking glazed over as he stared straight ahead of himself. 

Where the music was coming from; however, was where Herald was looking. The other eye catching thing. It was a big blue and purple box, big enough for a person it fit inside. If it weren’t for the presence already inside, the Puppet. Suddenly the haunting music came to a halt, leaving a chilled to Griffith’s bone.

Herald Griffith quickly headed to the security office, grabbed the interview schedule and left after shutting everything off. He could get his work done at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freddy and the gang are back, that means things are about to begin...
> 
> Another thing I should mention, there is some inspiration from the Five Nights at Freddy's book The Silver Eyes. As flawed as it was I did enjoy parts of it and it did help inspire me to write this story. The mention in this story is that the animatronics do have people controlling their movements during the day. I think it leaves more impact to shock, and frighten, people when they move at night. In this the whole "free roam" thing is a big lie to help cover things up.


	4. Night One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gregor finds out he's alone but not the only one in the pizzeria during his night shift...

It was eleven forty-five at night when Gregor Scott pulled into the vacant parking lot of the pizzeria. A typical, brown, lunch bag and coffee in hand he got out of his car, shutting the door soundly behind him. Gregor looked at the building, it looked a lot different at night. The happy brown bear, donning top hat and bowtie looked almost eerie. Gregor didn’t look to much into the thought, as he walked up to the front doors. Everything looked different at night after all. Swapping his hot coffee to his other hand Gregor fished a key from his slacks. 

Unlocking the front door Gregor was greeted by dark void of the inner building. The darkness was so thick he could hardly see past a few row of floor tiles. Again Gregor wasn’t bothered as he entered the pizzeria, only turning around to lock the doors behind him. Depositing the key back into his pocket Gregor felt a chill whisk by him, it was colder in Freddy’s than he expected. To warm himself he took a drink of his coffee, that worked nicely.

Coming into the security office he flicked the lights on. The florescent light bulb gave off a momentary buzz after being undisturbed for hours, but quickly died into the background. Feeling another chill go through him Gregor took an additional drink of his coffee as he sat down in his chair. He leaned back feeling at ease in the office, after decorating it the small room felt like a home away from home. Small yet cozy. 

He placed his lunch and coffee onto the desk before taking up a moderately sized control tablet. It was a more updated version of the older model used in the previous pizzeria, not the most advanced version out there, but still pretty good. It didn’t drain a lot of energy and was slimmer but still sturdy enough. If anything it looked nicer and was a bit of an upgrade. Having nothing better to do Gregor idly flipped through all the cameras. As expected nothing had changed since he left earlier today. 

“Haunted pizzeria, yeah right.” Gregor grunted to himself as he set the tablet back down. Honestly he didn’t know how anyone could believe in ghosts. It was ridiculous really, there was no solid evidence. That aside he just couldn’t believe that people could linger around after death, it just didn’t make sense. Much less possess animatronics to carry out some hate fueled revenge scheme. 

However, tonight he couldn’t completely shut out the possibility. Springtrap came to mind. Despite how hard he denied it, something in his mind, something in the back of his head, was telling him that something was off about the withered animatronic. Like the feeling of him being watched when alone with it. Gregor had tried telling himself that it was the fact there was a corpse inside it, but that wasn’t all of it. Part of it no doubt, but the thing looked and felt off to be around. 

The time when Clifton was locking the animatronic’s joints was most recent in his memory. It had been later in the day after they discovered the animatronic was a tomb. The mechanic asked Gregor to stay and help him out with the task. In reality the man just wanted someone else with him when he did it. Inwardly Gregor couldn’t blame him.

“Clifton, why did you tell me to stay and help you if I’m just going to stand here?” Gregor had irately asked as he stood near the wall opposite of Springtrap. The farther he was away from the thing the better. He was a bit annoyed with the fact that he was standing around doing nothing. Gregor felt something rise up in his stomach as he watched the mechanic trying to fit the torso back over the murderer’s corpse. This was something he really could do without watching. Twisting his face in disgust Gregor looked away before continuing, “Because I’d rather not stand and watch this…”

Taking a moment to breath Clifton looked at the younger man, “Look, I just didn’t want to be left along with this…” He looked pointedly at the tomb of an animatronic, “thing.”

Gregor gave him a look. Clifton flicked his hands up in the air, “It’s grin creeps me out, okay?”

“The mouth covering is worn away Clifton, that’s the only reason it’s ‘grinning’.” Gregor pointed out flatly, while not really looking at the rotting animatronic. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. Standing a few feet away from a dead body, a dead body of child killer at that! Watching a mechanic reseal the corpse in the suit and locking the joints. To top it all off they were going to hide the body by sealing the room up.

This is so messed up. And illegal…Gregor thought dismally to himself.

“Just stand there and be look out then.” Clifton snapped shortly as he forced himself to get back to work. He couldn’t help but inwardly cringe each time his fingers or hand brushed against the murderer’s rotting flesh. It felt so wrong, this was so wrong. Each touch made his skin crawl, and he was going to have to go home to his wife and kid after this! Clifton shook his head, he was going to need a nice, long, hot shower after this.

Gregor only gave a half attempted grunt in response, while he turned his slate grey eyes to the door. Shifting in place he crossed his arms, feeling some sort of security with them up against his chest, like a hug of comfort. Yet even with that his heart felt tense, ready to start beating quickly at a moment’s notice. He was ready to up and run. His eyes glued on the door helped enough to distract himself from what Clifton was doing, and what he was near. 

The earlier incident had caused a stir among the workers, the sounds of the spring locks going off spoked several workers. The three of them had managed to keep them from entering the room thankfully, telling them it had just been a minor incident with the animatronic. The workers bought it after Clifton explained the spring lock mechanism. They did; however, have to relocate the supplies towards the front of the building, to avoid anyone spotting what lay within the animatronic. The workers didn’t mind, made it easier for them to get what they needed. Still, it remained tense until they left.

It being too risky to try and reseal the corpse it during the day, when people would be coming to them with questions, they had to wait till later. What better time to hide a body? No, that wasn’t the only reason. Each of them wanted to be away from what they found. Have a few hours trying to pretend it didn’t exist. To retain some denial of who they had more than likely found, and of what he had done. One man’s actions had turned the whole town upside down. He’d reminded them of what a person could be capable of. That monsters were real and they looked like any other person.

The rest of the time went by quietly, neither of them spoke again. The only sounds came from the suit as Clifton tried to get the flesh and parts to come together again. A sound of metal popping solidly into place signaled that they were done. 

Finally, after what seemed like day, but was only around fifteen minutes in reality, Gregor looked back at Springtrap. He repressed a shudder, it still looked gruesomely horrifying. That same wicked grin leering at him, as if laughing at him for the crime he was helping commit. What he was helping hide. The Phone Guy felt something in him seize up, no, it wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t sure how but he felt an anger come from it. 

Clifton muttered something along the lines of “come on” and began to leave. Gregor nodded automatically and he followed his cohort-or rather accomplice, out of the room. Gregor wasn’t sure why, but he looked back. Nothing was different, same madly grinning, decaying bunny animatronic sitting against the wall. Giving off a presence it shouldn’t be able to. 

Gregor was snatched from his memories when he heard a thudding noise. He jumped in his chair causing it to jostle in place. He’d been so enveloped in his memories that he’d zoned out. The night guard shook his head, trying to dislodge the image of the rotting Springtrap from his mind and focus on the present. He grabbed the camera control pad from the desk. Something had probably just fallen, no need to leave the office for that. He stalled, what was there to fall? There were the pictures on the walls…but that wouldn’t cause a thud. Quickly he looked around his office, hoping for an answer. Nothing, and now that he thought of it, the thudding sounded distant…

His body tensed as he heard several more thuds. Judging by the succession it seemed to be footsteps, but not ones made by shoes. Whatever was moving around sounded like it was padded yet at the same time heavy. Something immediately clicked in his mind.

Gregor snapped his eyes back to the screen on the tablet and pressed on the camera that viewed the main stage-camera one. Everything seemed to stop when he saw only two animatronics standing on the stage. Bonnie was missing. Only Freddy and Chica stood vigil, staring out into the blank darkness before them. Gregor’s heart started running a marathon in his chest as he began to frantically searching for the bunny. Part of him was hoping that somehow a group of people had broken in, and were trying to steal the animatronic. He pleaded for anything but the rumors being true

Gregor searched and searched around the dark pizzeria, all the while in the background he could hear the thuds continuing off and on. Cold washed over him as he heard a noise coming from outside of the office. Breathing, heavy, rasping breathing. It reminded him of the noise that he heard from-No, it couldn’t be Springtrap! He was sealed away! But that meant…The night guard, couldn’t get himself to turn his head. He was too afraid.

More thudding footsteps, this time far too close for comfort. It was enough to force Gregor to slowly peel his eyes off the camera screen and look towards the door. There, peering in through the side of the open doorway was Bonnie. Physically the bunny hadn’t changed, but there was something different. The animatronic didn’t look friendly anymore. His jaws were open, smiling at Gregor almost in greeting as he stared at the night guard. Gregor didn’t dare so much as twitch, fearing setting the creature off somehow.

He didn’t need to though, his presence seemed to be enough for the animatronic. The robot’s eyelids slanted, light red eyes glaring at him. Bonnie slowly moved away from the doorframe to make his way inside. In that moment Gregor reacted out of fear, and slammed the wooden door shut. He even locked it for good measure. The night guard slowly shifted back to the center of the room, too scared to make any noise.

A bang from the door Bonnie was behind caused Gregor to jump. The wooden door shook fearfully as the bunny pounded away on it. Terrified of what the animatronic might do to him Gregor began moving backwards. The door shook and shook, each hit wearing away at it more than the last. Gregor knew the obstacle wouldn’t take long for the bunny robot to tear down, the door wasn’t meant to be roughed with in such a manner. The night guard’s breath hitched when the top hinge on the door was torn off the frame. Gregor backed up, and into the opposite door, which was shut as well.

He was trapped.

Bonnie’s purple paw grabbed at were the top hinge used to be, and now was pulling back on the door, aiming to rip it off. The sound of wood cracking and splintering filled the air, each individual crack echoing in Gregor’s ears like a count down. 

No, no, no, he couldn’t go out like this! Turning around Gregor fumbled with the door lock, his frantic mind more focused on the imminent threat. By the time he turned the lock Bonnie had ripped the door right off its hinges. The animatronic tossed the door against the hallway wall behind it. Flinging the unlocked door open Gregor bolted out into the hallway, heading immediately for the front doors.

That was until a slenderer looming form came into the view. Gregor came to a complete halt, staring up at the taller being. The Puppet looked down at him, each eye hole housing a small glowing pupil it wasn’t supposed to have. The animatronic step towards him silently, standing somehow on a single point with an unearthly poised grace. Gregor wanted to step back down the hall he’d come from, but a padded thud reminded him of the previous threat he’d ran from. Bonnie was still after him, and the Puppet was in front of him, quickly as possible Gregor weighed his options. 

There was the back exit, but Gregor didn’t want to risk running into anymore animatronics. The Puppet was flimsier, thereby, should be easier to fight off. Any thoughts about how damaging an animatronic would be bad for his job were unimportant now. He was going to get out of this alive, consequences were meaningless. Hearing Bonnie lumber into the hall behind him Gregor made a mad dash to maneuver around the puppet.

A yell flung itself from his throat when the animatronic fluidly moved to in front of him, it’s body far more flexible than it was supposed to be. Gregor’s jaw trembled, but no noise came from it. He was shaking in fear, too scared to even whimper. The thing hung there in front of him, just staring at him with a nondescript expression. Taking a step to the side Gregor aimed to slowly move away. He flinched when the creature followed him, mirroring him exactly. 

The sound of the approaching bunny urged Gregor to move quickly again. Swallowing his fear best he could, while also using it to fuel him, the night guard turned on his heel. Only to seize up again when the Puppet was immediately in front of him once more. The animatronic’s long, spindly legs allowing for it to easily cut him off. 

Gregor stepped back, the Puppet followed suit. Staring at him silently with glowing points. Wide smile seemingly wider in Gregor’s frightened mind. The thudding of Bonnie’s footsteps got louder as the animatronic neared. Gregor may not know why these things were after him, but he knew the result wouldn’t be good if they caught him. Especially if the rumors were true, which at this point was far too likely for comfort. He had to get away!

Heart pounding in his ears Gregor made another attempt for the door. When the Puppet didn’t appear in front of him again he thought he was in the clear. That was until he felt a strong, almost crushing grip, on his shoulders. The night guard cried in pain as Bonnie pulled him back. He could feel the animatronic’s rasping breath on the back of his head and neck. Gregor didn’t question why a robot was breathing, he needed to get away! His hand snatched the one thing he had on him, a piece of standard night guard equipment, his flashlight. 

Gregor swung around knocking the bunny on the nose. The animatronic’s snout hardly budged, barely registering to the robot. The only thing it did cause Bonnie to do was grab his wrist with a painful grip. Gregor continued struggling against the mechanical monster, pulling back, trying to break free. Fear and panic, the only things that were driving him as Bonnie began dragging him down the hall. He fought hard to regain his arm, pulling back against the hand trying to force himself to slip from the grip.

During the struggle Gregor’s thumb pushed down the flashlight’s power switch, thus turning the torch on. Initially, the night guard thought the beam of light would do nothing to deter the giant bunny. Until he realized the bunny was no long moving. It stared at the light as if mesmerized. Gregor recalled something from a while back when Clifton had been working on Chica.

Gregor wasted no time on trying to figure out why this caused such a reaction from the bunny. With Bonnie stalled for the moment the night guard was able to roughly pry himself free. First his shoulder then his other hand. He was going to be bruised, but that was much better than the much more gruesome option. 

Soon as he was free Gregor made a rush for the front doors, no way in hell was he staying in this place for a whole night! He was no more than eight steps away from the doors when the Puppet was in front of him again. This time it no longer just stared at him, three-fingered hands grabbed at his face and throat pushing him back with surprising force. Gregor soon found himself on the ground. In a snap the Puppet was bearing down on him, white mask shadowed. The animatronic glared at him a moment before looking back to its companion.

When the purple bunny jerked its head over into its direction the Puppet looked back to Gregor. The man was not where he left him, the lanky animatronic jerked its head from side to side. Soon it spotted the night guard crawling away on all fours.

Gregor cringed as his eardrums were torn apart by a distorted screech from the Puppet. Bonnie’s head snapped over to him in a manner only a machine could, right over its shoulder. Hearing a child’s laugh, that no doubt came from Balloon Boy, and several more thuds, gave Gregor the motivation to scramble to his feet. Eyes focused squarely on the doors he jammed the key right into the lock. As Gregor fought with it he heard a seemingly more haunted version of Freddy’s laugh that made his heart shiver with fear. 

The night guard screamed, hands latching onto the door handle, as he felt the Puppet’s hands grab onto him. The constant ringing noise continued pouring from the, slim black cloth covered, Puppet, that quickly caused Gregor’s ears to ring. He kept his mind focused on unlocking the door, but he couldn’t help but noticed Bonnie’s form moving in. With its strength it’d pry him off the handles, no trouble at all. 

A thankful click signaled that the lock had been undone. Fighting against the Puppet, Gregor shoved the doors open. If he could get to his car he’d be golden! To his surprise, soon as he stepped one foot out the door the Puppet released him. Out of the pizzeria, Gregor tentatively looked back at the open doorway of the building. There stood the looming figures of both Bonnie and the Puppet, staring out at him with gleaming, lifeless eyes. Behind them, Gregor could chilling pick out the eyes of the other animatronics. All of their eyes focused right on him.

They didn’t seem to be planning on leaving the pizzeria, but Gregor wasn’t going to risk it. Turning around the night guard hurried to his car. As he reached it, Gregor heard a subtle click. The doors to the establishment had been shut, he took that as his cue to leave.

 

“You’re saying that the bunny did this?” Clifton questioned, as he looked at the torn up doorway. The whole left side, where the hinges had once been, looked beyond repair. They’d have to completely replace it. Only the bottom hinge still remained and only just barely. The mechanic scratched the side of his head, trying to picture the bunny slamming the door down without making it cartoonish. 

“No I did this myself.” Gregor snapped at the taller man. With sharp movements he motioned to the damage done. He looked back to the mechanic, while still pointing to the splintered wood. “I’ll show you the security recordings if I have to! Bonnie and Puppet were trying to stuff me in a damn suit! Bonnie nearly dragged me down the hall!”

Clifton looked at the security guard in surprise, this was the first time he’d ever heard him swear. Even he muttered a damn every once in a while. It was their manager, Herald, that was the one that answered, “As much as we want to believe you, we’ll need to see that reordering regardless.”

Gregor nodded in understanding, he turned around and headed into the security room. Lifting up the pad he put on last night’s recording. Knowing that there would be no footage of Bonnie busting into the office, he instead put it on the front entrance camera. Getting the footage to the right time, the scene of the Puppet blocking him played till Bonnie came and tried dragging him away, played. Gregor felt the bruises on his shoulder and hand act up, making him shift in place uncomfortably. He heard Clifton murmur in shock as the night guard struggled to get away on screen. The footage flooded with static for a moment, then continued on as it showed him struggling with the door. The static took over the screen again after the escape was made, and when it cleared everyone jumped in surprise. 

All the animatronics were gathered at the front entrance, looking out. The static returned and then they were gone.

“Holy shit…” Clifton uttered to himself, he could hardly believe it, “Those old rumors are true…” A look of dread came over his face, complexion turning two shades whiter, his hair standing on ends. He looked at the two other guys present, “Wait, what about Springtrap? If their-”

Herald Griffith cut him off before he could finish, “That thing is sealed away. Even if it is haunted there’s no chance of it getting out.”

Gregor and Clifton nodded curtly. The mechanic looked at the purple clad security guard. There were dark rings around his eyes, indicating he hadn’t slept well last night. He couldn’t blame him with what he had gone through. Clifton knew the answer he was going to get, but common courtesy dictated he ask anyway, “Hey, you alright?”

The guard looked off before answering. “I’m fine, just some bruises.”

Clifton looked at Gregor for a long while, before looking back to their boss and asking, “So, boss, what do we do about this?” 

Griffith watched as the mechanic motioned to the camera display, mind racing in a hurried panic. They couldn’t just disband the project. It’d cause a stir, questions would be asked. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be able to dismiss them all without slipping up. If they abandoned the building, then what? Would the animatronic just stay here? What if some group of kids snuck in and got killed? Then there was all the money he put into this…and all the people he’d have to lay off. His reputation would go down, everything would go wrong! No, no, there had to be something that could be done.

“The past restaurants had to have had some method of dealing with this.” Herald said quickly, nodding to his own words as self-reassurance. He looked to Gregor hopefully. “Do you know anything about that?”

It took Gregor a moment to realize he’d been spoken to, he nodded limply, eyes tired. “Yeah, in fact I think we found some old tapes from one of the old restaurants. I’ll look around for more.” He rubbed the side of his head in an attempt to keep himself awake, he could still picture the Puppet’s piercing eyes. “I’ll need to think of a way to get the taps onto a digital format. If they have anything useful on them.”

Huffing dully, Gregor pushed back from the desk, crossing his arms. “Either way, I’m not doing another night shift.”

This declaration took Herald by surprise, leaving him shocked. “What! If you won’t then who will?”

“Why don’t we bring in that Isaac Vargas guy?” Gregor suggested. “He’s obviously dealt with something like this before.”

“Absolutely not!” Herald Griffith outright objected. “He’ll burn the place to the ground on his first night…” He stopped a moment, recalling the man’s exit after they chose to ignore his warning. “That and he said he was done working for this franchise...” His voice trailed off, the moment leaving a weighted feeling in his gut now.

Clifton couldn’t believe what he was witnessing, his tone was quiet with disbelief. “Are you two seriously considering bringing some other person to watch those things at night?” He looked to Herald then to Gregor, “After you saw, and you know firsthand, how dangerous the animatronics are! They were out to kill you Gregor!”

“And we’ll make sure they’re properly prepared.” Gregor pointed out. “We’re not going to just toss them in there unaware.”

“That doesn’t mean they’ll make it through the night! It wasn’t even one am when those things nearly got you!” Clifton protested, abhorred by the security guard’s almost flippant response. Just yesterday he wanted to be build a sense of family with the other guards, now he seemingly didn’t care about their very lives. 

Gregor gave Clifton a look, “We’ll do everything we can Clifton.” He motioned to the doors, “For one get sturdier doors.” He tilted his head to look to the manager, “We can do that right boss?”

“Of course.” Herald Griffith answered with a nod, he looked at Clifton reassuringly. “Every job has its dangers Schwartz. We’ll do everything we can to ensure their safety. I assure you of that.” He patted the taller man on the back a few times. “Everything will be fine you’ll see.” 

Griffith looked at his employee with a certain sternness, “Just don’t go do anything rash now…we’re all in this together. Remember that.” 

Clifton felt himself seize up at the words and tone of his boss. The tone was calm, collected, and one of warning. His words matched this, seeming reassuring, but clearly saying that they were all in on the crime. He’d helped them hide the body, he’d let them seal the carcass away. He was just as guilty as they were. 

Clifton Schwartz stood there a moment just looking at the men, hands rolled into tight shaking fists. As much as he wanted to just march out the front door, he couldn’t. He couldn’t put his family through the endeavor of their name being marred by such a crime. Especially since it involved Freddy’s. In Hurricane they’d be ruined and have to move. Something they couldn’t afford currently, they were still knee deep in his college debt.

So instead, he gave a forced nod, words blunt, “I won’t, boss.” Not wanting to be with either man any longer, Clifton turned to leave, saying, “I’m going to check the animatronics. Just to be sure.” 

In reality, he just wanted to go to his safe haven, his repair room. There he could be left alone to think, and hopefully figure out a way to make the animatronics safer for the future night shift. 

Gregor watched Clifton leave in an absolute huff, there went that possible friendship. He steeled himself inside, and shoved the feeling off, they all came and went anyway. This meant too much to him for him to let go. It was more important than something as temporary as a friend. Clifton would get over it, probably, anyway. Freddy’s was the one place he’d ever felt happy inside. He couldn’t let it go down again.

Gregor looked to his boss, “I’ll get to researching soon as I can.”

“Start looking into it now. We’re not open right now anyway.” Herald instructed, Gregor nodded and headed out the door. Before the man left the premises his boss called out, “And try to get some rest. You look horrible.”

There was an odd note of understanding in his voice. Gregor looked back saw that he wasn’t the only one with bags under his eyes. Herald looked just as tired, maybe more so. Gregor gave a slow, and subtle, nod before he left through the front doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First night shift of the story!  
> The music box wasn't wound at all so the Puppet got to come out right away. Of course I can't have him one shot night guards so instead he's more of the ring leader or boss, getting the animatronics more organized, as well as being fast and agile. 
> 
> Also, hope it was clear that Gregor isn't a great guy...


	5. The New Night Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gregor interviews two possible night guards, while things still stir during the day...

Kyle Hudson, was by nature stubborn as a bull, but arguably more even tempered than one. This is arguable as she had gotten fired from previous jobs for mouthing off to her bosses, for various reasons. Recently her job issues were causing friction between her and her girlfriend, Jessica. Who insisted she could go full-time at her job, but Kyle wanted her to focus on her art. She was great at painting, drawing, digital art, anything she put her mind to. Kyle didn’t want her to waste her talent folding clothes all the time. This was why she was currently looking up at a colorful sign featuring a top hat wearing brown bear. 

She figured that if she worked a night shift then there’d be less of a chance of her getting in trouble with her boss. The boss worked during the day and she at night leaving little chance for arguments. So long as she didn’t misbehave or slack off of course. That is, if she got the job. Having a long history of being fired was likely to dampen her chances of getting the job. Kyle knew she’d have to be on her best behavior to have a good chance, maybe toss out a few compliments if necessary. 

She needed to get and keep a job. So Jessica wouldn’t feel the need to go full-time. 

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria wasn’t open yet, but it would be soon. Next week in fact, if she recalled correctly. From the outside the building looked plenty friendly. The titular Freddy Fazbear was holding his microphone up to his mouth, and his other paw was outstretched, welcoming everyone inside. Kyle took the silent offer and walked up to the two new, shiny, glass doors and pushed them open. 

Inside the place looked like it was ready for costumers. The walls were painted and splotched with confetti dots. Even from the entrance Kyle could glimpse the ready party rooms, the tables covered with a pastel purple sheets, chairs lining the sides. She supposed, right now, they were just trying to fill up the employment slots. Hopefully one of those would be hers, especially since the night guard job paid pretty well. 

At the reception desk was a sunny looking blond woman, her long hair tucked back behind her ears, and was dressed in a pink uniform. Noticing the short, brown haired Kyle come in she perked, saying, “Oh, hello, are you here for a job opportunity? Otherwise, we’re not open for business yet.”

“Yeah, I am.” Kyle said as she walked across the unmarked, checkerboard floor, “I’m here for a night guard position. I was told to meet someone called Gregor, I have an interview today.”

The woman looked over a schedule briefly then nodded. She headed over to the side of the front desk, looking to Kyle she motioned to a hall behind just behind her. “The security office is just behind the front desk. Gregor should be there, if not, just wait for him.”

Kyle nodded and began heading over to the hall. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The woman replied with a smile and nod.

Heading past the front desk, the woman going back to a chair she’d been sitting at prior, it only took Kyle a minute to notice the security office. The lady hadn’t been kidding when she said it was just behind the front desk. Peering inside from the doorway Kyle saw that the room was currently empty. Having permission, she sat down on the extra chair, placed to the side of the metal desk that was in the office. 

Kyle looked around as she waited. The room was quite small, possibly only able to fit four people, maybe five. The desk area was decorated with merchandise of the mascots, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, etc. One caught her eye, it was a marionette looking character. It stood out in stark contrast with the others, it was mostly black and white, and rather simple in appearance. Kyle was curious what role the doll-like character played in the pizzeria. 

Aside from that there was a metal desk fan that sat whirring gently on the desk beside the figures of the main cast. On the other side of the desk was a home phone. In the center was pad of some sort, curious Kyle craned her neck a little to see what it was for. To her slight surprise it seemed to be connected to the cameras. That was the first time she’d seen something like that.

On the wall opposite of the desk was posters of the main cast reading “Let’s Party”, “Let’s Rock”, “Let’s Eat” and “Let’s Play!”. There were also posters on the wall of the front desk, one of the Freddy and the other of him with his band. Kyle was almost impressed by how much the office was decorated, but it made the place feel more welcoming she supposed. Part of her wondered where all the stuff came from though, it looked slightly worn, well kept, but there was hints of age to the items. 

What was odd about the office was a rather large vent above the desk. Normally Kyle wouldn’t give a vent a second thought, but this thing was big enough for a person! There wasn’t even a grate on it! Then there were the doorways, they had caution lines around it. From the looks of it metal doors were to slide down. What in the world would a pizzeria need something like this for?

Before she could wonder about this any further a man dressed in a purple uniform came in from the other side of the office. He had a hat on his head, shadowing his eyes, but Kyle could still see him looking at her from under the glossy black bill. The security guard looked at her a moment before settling down on the rolling chair at the desk. He glanced at a paper before asking, “I’m guessing you’re Kyle Hudson?”

Kyle nodded, “That’s right. You’re Gregor Scott then?” 

She held her hand out for him, Gregor took it and gave it a firm shake. Kyle couldn’t tell if that had impacted anything, but at the least he didn’t look offended. Gregor picked up a packet of papers, looking over the top page. He looked at her, “Are you ready to begin? The interview won’t be very long.”

When he got a nod Gregor began, “I saw in your resume that you’ve had quite a few jobs. I called the recent ones and your former bosses said you had an attitude.”

Gregor’s tone was even, not leaving Kyle any indication of whether he was upset or not. She gave a curt nod, “Yes, well, we had disagreements. My last boss jiped me on some money, and I called her out about it. The one before liked firing people before they were close to getting a raise. We argued because he was letting me go because of a something I hadn’t done.” Looking at Gregor she could see he wasn’t completely sold on what she was saying. So Kyle went on, “I’m not saying that I had a good reason for mouthing off on everyone, but I do promise that I’m a hard worker.”

The purple clad man looked at her a moment before flipping to another page, saying nothing in response. Kyle hoped that her desperation hadn’t shown too badly in her words. Keeping his eyes on her resume, Gregor went on with the interview, “I see you’ve worked security detail a few times in the past Miss. Hudson.”

Kyle perked, “Yes. One time while I was going to college, and another time when I first moved here. I had to quit the first one to move here, and then got laid off from the other after the company had to cut back on things. I hadn’t been working there long enough to be worth keeping.”

“You like working at nights? You’ve had several night jobs.” Gregor stated, looking through her references.

Kyle nodded, “I’ve always been a night owl. And you can see that I lasted longer in those jobs. They just suit me better.”

The security guard nodded, “Yes, I see that.” He looked at her, “So you’ve had sufficient training in being a guard?”

“Yes, my first job required training. I’ll be able to handle myself in high stress situations.” Kyle assured confidently, her posture straightening. This time she could tell that her potential supervisor was interested in what she had said. 

“Alright,” Gregor placed her resume back on the table, “Just a couple more questions. What is your knowledge of our company, and what exactly drew you to apply for this position?”

“To be honest, I applied for this job because of the pay.” Kyle openly admitted. “I do like working as a guard, but I want to help support my girlfriend’s art career. The supplies can be expensive and the money would really help out.” She gauged Gregor’s reaction but once more he was straight faced. Kyle went on, “As for what I know about Freddy’s…well, I’m sure you know it’s hard to not hear about the company’s past while living in Hurricane.”

Gregor nodded with a slight stiffness, “Yes, I’m very aware.”

“Well, personally, the events hadn’t affected me or my family. As I mentioned I moved here. So I mean no disrespect, while what happened was tragic, but I’m rather indifferent.” Kyle confessed with an honest shrug.

Gregor hummed thoughtfully to himself, “To be honest, it would be better if more people were indifferent. If you’ve seen the news the town is still broken up about the events of thirty years ago.”

Kyle nodded, the news did something on it every day. The restaurant’s return was a hot topic as of late. When a moment of silence passed Kyle looked to the guard who was in thought. She waited a moment before asking, “So, will I be called back, or…?”

Gregor pulled himself from his thoughts before answering, “I just need to talk this over with my boss, but,” he gave her a faint smile and held his hand out, “I’ll say this, you have good chances. Expect a call by the end of the day.”

For a moment Kyle was surprised, but she didn’t question it and took his hand, shaking it firmly, “Thank you.”

Gregor nodded and waved her off. He watched as she left then looked at his interview schedule, just one more interview today. From what he recalled it was some fresh into college kid looking for an easy job. Just something to get some cash. What had he said his major was? It didn’t matter. Whatever it was it didn’t’ matter. The kid was going to get the job, both he and Kyle would get it. He’d already predetermined it with his boss, lucky them. Their luck would be a double edged sword. They were going to get more than they bargained for, a lot more.

Gregor turned his eyes to the camera tablet. It had been terrifying, looking over the recordings as they waited for the interviews. The animatronics got more and more active as the week went on. Acting more possessed…twitching erratically, eyes haunting. They hadn’t tried to escape, but they needed someone to watch them. Just in case they got ideas, or something went wrong. To keep them under control.

The guard propped his elbows onto the cool metal desk, rubbing his temples. Just thinking about the recordings was giving him a headache. Gregor could imagine them in his head, the static flooding the screen each time an animatronic moved. Dead lifeless eyes staring right at the cameras. The memories of the sole night he’d endured was brought to the forefront of his mind, the Puppet’s stare burning into his. Then Springtrap came to mind, Gregor was thankful the thing was sealed away. That was one thing off his mind. However, the rest of the staff were beginning to mention seeing and hearing things. Nothing major so far, just thinking they saw something out of the corner of their eyes or briefly hearing something. Of course they were told it was nothing, and they bought it readily. 

The sound of feet pitter pattering down the hall jerked Gregor from his thoughts. He looked towards the right hallway, the sound of hushed whispers slithered through the air. Gregor furrowed his brows hearing footsteps spurt down the hall again. Feeling the urge to follow Gregor got up from his desk. Peering into the hall, he saw nothing. Gregor shook his head, berating himself mentally about giving it any mind, and sat back down at the desk.

Distracting himself he went over the precautions he’d gotten for the night guards. It taken some digging to get information. It wasn’t something well discussed after all. He’d mainly had to try and find things from the other restaurants. The second one had yielded good finds. The Freddy head trick had been easy enough to do, they already had some empty spares. Though while asking Clifton for one it was clear to see he hadn’t gotten over the fact they were still going to hire night guards. To avoid argument Gregor got the head and ignored any challenging words. 

The last restaurant yielded the heavy metal doors. It’d been odd trying to explain that to the people installing them, not to mention a good chunk of money, but regardless they’d been installed. The staff didn’t seem to know what to make of them but they played it off as authenticity’s sake, and for safety. The door caused him to recall the vent sealing mechanism from Fazbear’s Fright. Only one vent lead to the office so thankfully they only had to get one. It being out of sight left the others unaware of its existence. 

He also planned on leaving messages on the phone, oddly enough that hadn’t gotten a response from Clifton. Now that he thought about it, whenever he was called in he was shut away in the mechanic’s room. Gregor rolled his eyes, crossing his arms on the desk, head leaned slightly forward. If that’s how he was going to be, then it was on him. They were doing all they could, the night guards should have no trouble.

Feeling his eyes droop Gregor held the side of his head, noticing how light headed he was feeling. Sleep was hard to by every so often lately. Nightmares were becoming more frequent, particularly featuring Springtrap, Bonnie, and the Puppet. Horrid dreams of them chasing him, screeching, dragging him through dark halls to be stuffed in a bear suit. Sometimes he could feel the beams and wires cut into him. Each time he’d wake up in a cold sweat, breathing hard like he’d actually been running. 

Gregor lifted his hat up a bit and ran his hand through his short hair, trying to clear his head and focus. The light buzz continued, he shook his head slightly, and in doing so he saw a form duck away from the doorway. Gregor whipped his head back over to the doorway. Nothing was there, but he could hear quick footsteps heading down the hall. Without thinking further Gregor got up from his chair again and headed into the hall. Standing out in the middle hallway he just caught sight of the form turn the corner into the main party room. Footsteps quick the guard continued his pursuit. 

Coming into the main party room Gregor briefly looked at the three mascots still standing on stage, staring out at the party tables as usual. The only difference now was the tables were covered in plastic table cloths. Glancing the sight of the figure entering the kitchen off to the side. Gregor turned his head to it and once again it was already out of sight. Gregor was going to go after it when he realized that the doors to the kitchen hadn’t even opened. Hesitation sprouted in his stomach but Gregor quickly weeded it out. 

Pushing open the doors to the kitchen Gregor scanned the kitchen space for what he was following. He couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary, but he could hear a faint sound of shuffling. Slowly the purple clad guard stalked towards the sound. It was just around the prep station. When he neared it the sound started up by the entrance. Gregor halted feeling a distinct chill in the air, he shoved the feeling off, and turned back towards the twin doors. Turning the corner of the stainless steel tables, there was nothing.

The head of security shook his head, why was he bothering with this? He looked at his wrist watch, thankfully he still had plenty of time before the next appointment. Also thankfully none of the cooks were going to work until opening day. 

Sitting back at his desk again, Gregor exhaled, that had been a waste of a few minutes. Eying the control panel Gregor lifted it up. Might as well glance through the cameras while he waited. Spotting the camera for the kitchen he shook his head slightly and selected it. The empty, brand new kitchen showed. Only odd thing was the camera was speckled with static. Gregor furrowed a brow at this. The cameras were new they shouldn’t have any static. He’d have to have someone take a look at that later. 

Moving on with his check Gregor looked back at the main party room, smiling faintly at the sight of the animatronics standing on stage. Afterwards the guard randomly flicked through the cameras, seeing much of the same. Rooms vacant of anyone. Even Clifton wasn’t scheduled to come in today, since all the animatronics had been properly looked over. All the animatronics passed the tests with flying colors. Looking back the guard noticed when he’d come back they’d all been back in their places, as if the hadn’t moved at all. 

Clifton apparently was working hard on trying to make the animatronic’s safer for the night guards. Gregor hadn’t heard of any progress being made on that front. 

His boss hadn’t been coming in as much recently. Then again there wasn’t much to do but wait. They were supposed to have a big staff meeting the day before opening. When Herald did come in, it was pretty clear to see that he hadn’t been sleeping too well. Dark rings around his eyes had become a new feature on his face after Gregor’s incident. The guard wondered if he was having nightmares too, but then Gregor wondered why? He hadn’t run into the animatronics face to face.

Gregor was pulled from his thoughts when the small figure from before flitted its way across the camera screen. Blinking his eyes into focus, Gregor watched as the control screen was hit with a storm of static that cleared in seconds. The camera was showing the back hall. The camera did its swing to the right showing a blank wall. Gregor squinted his eyes, looking at the darkness at the bottom corner. He swore he could see something…

“Uh, excuse me?”

Gregor jumped in his seat slightly, he gripped the pad a little harder, annoyed by the indignation. Turning his head, Gregor saw a younger guy dressed in somewhat formal attire, most likely just for the interview. Though he hadn’t met the guy face to face, he met the description of the next appointment. The young man noticed the minor scare he’d caused and was looking uncertainly at the guard. Eyes shifting with indecision. 

Finally, he spoke again when Gregor gave him a look, “Er, sorry about that.”

Gregor waved it away and turned his chair to him, “Never mind. What are you here for?”

Happy with the dismissal the young skinny man straightened and smiled, “I’m early, but I’m here for the night guard position. Name’s Cole Henderson, I called last week.”

“Any reason your early?” Gregor asked, not that he was bothered by the fact.

“Well...” Cole began. When the guard motioned for him to sit Cole nodded, moved around behind where Gregor was sitting, and sat on chair at the other side. The college student smiled appreciatively, “Thanks.” Gregor waved the notion away and Cole continued, “Some things came up so, I came to see if I could get the interview done a little early. The lady up front said it’d probably be fine.”

Gregor hummed, “We aren’t exactly busy right now.”

Cole gave a laugh, “I’d guess not.” Thinking he might actually somehow be inconveniencing the guard, he looked at him with a weak smile. “It is fine, right? I can reschedule…”

“No it’s fine.” Gregor answered as he took up the resume Cole had submitted. He tapped the paper pointedly with his forefinger. “It’s just a couple of questions really. So, when you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” Cole answered readily with a nod.

“Alright,” Gregor began. “So, you haven’t had much work outside of this.”

“Yeah, just that fast food place down the street when I was in high school.” Cole explained, appearing a little embarrassed as she shifted in the chair self-consciously.

“Why do you think your qualified for this job when you have so little experience with this field? There is risk of danger.” Gregor commented, the resume being placed back onto the desk. Looking at the young man now the guard could see his mention of danger caused a pause. The college student was rethinking his decision for a moment. Uncertainty danced in the brunette’s dark brown eyes.

“I know that.” Cole said stiffly, his apprehension tossed to the wind. “And, I can handle it.” He worked up a nervous smile, “Besides, the town is peaceful, and who would want to break into the pizzeria?”

Gregor gave him an even gaze, he expected this from someone so young, “Our animatronics are very high end. In the franchise’s past there have been some incidents of attempted theft. That and the town his voiced it’s opinion on the restaurant being revived. The night shift’s job is more to ensure the safety of our animatronics than anything else.”

“Oh, well…” Cole began carefully, feeling that he may have insulted the guard somehow. He cleared his throat a little, putting a sure face back on. “I can still handle it. I’m quick to learn and quick on my feet.” A look for pride gleamed in his eyes, “And I have to say I’m pretty fit.”

“Hm, yes, well if you get the job there will be some training recordings left for you by me.” Gregor stated as he gestured to the desk phone. Like Kyle the young man was going to get the job, but, of course, Gregor wasn’t about to tell him that. As such he then added, “If you get the position.”

Cole nodded in understanding. He glanced at the black phone, it would be good to have some training recordings. That would no doubt take the edge off of things, by giving him an idea of what to do. Should something happen.

“How familiar are you with our company?” Gregor questioned, continuing the interview.

Quickly all the beaming confidence faded away and was replaced by unease. Cole averted his eyes, leading him to look at the colorful posters. Looking at the bright, colorful, and cheerful mascot posters did nothing to brighten him, instead he looked at them somberly. He shifted slightly in his chair again, trying to get comfortable with his uneasiness. Clasping his hands together Cole thought over where to begin. The topic of the franchise was a complicated and mostly unsolved mess, but it did have its good points. They were just overshadowed vastly by the bad ones.

“Well, it’s hard to not know about the…kidnappings and the child killed outside of the restaurant.” Cole began, voice soft with empathy for the losses. He looked down at his hands, “I’m too young to have really felt the impact. I feel sorry for those who suffered losses at that time. I…don’t really blame the company…especially now with the new management and all. Far as I can tell…no one knew what to do.”

“Other than the company’s history. This is my first time actually being in one of the restaurants.” Cole said, wrapping up what he had to say.

“Why did you want this position?” Gregor asked.

“The money. My pail grants pay for my classes and supplies, but I don’t have much left over. I saw how much this job paid and figured it’d cover my needs.” Cole explained normally.

“Understandable.” Gregor commented, he held his hand out for the young man to shake. Cole smiled and took the hand. As they shook hands Gregor continued, “We’ll call you if you get the position.” Gregor released Cole’s hand and sat back in his chair. “Have a good day and good luck with whatever it is that came up today.”

“I just have to get somethings squared away. Just wasn’t sure how long it’d take.” Cole stated casually with a slight shrug. He stood up from his chair and went to the doorway. Before leaving he paused and looked back to Gregor, “Hope you have a good day too.”

The security guard gave a short wave to the applicant before he left. Gregor sat listening to the footsteps of the college student. A good-bye to the receptionist. Followed by the front doors opening and then shutting. That was all the interviews for the day. Later he’d call each of them and tell them that they got the positions. Soon as they were able they’d come in to get their uniforms, badges and name tags. Then they’d start their shifts once the schedule was made.

Gregor looked at the clock on his wristwatch and sighed. Still plenty of time left for his shift. He looked to the desk phone, might as well get the phone calls recorded. He picked up the phone and hit record button on the base.

“Hello, hello, welcome to your first night at working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be getting back to the good stuff next chapter ;)  
> Also taking bets on who dies first!


	6. Night Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cole Henderson has his first night shift at the pizzeria and it leaves him with pressing concerns about his job...

Chapter 6: Night Two

 

Cole Henderson sat down into the black rolling chair, leaning back a bit as he glanced around the security office room. He gave a nervous tug to his new purple uniform as he recalled the day he’d received it. He’d received the call that he’d gotten the position later on same day as his interview. It’d left him ecstatic! Cole had been worried his lack of experience would’ve gotten him declined. He was relieved that wasn’t the case. 

A couple days later he dropped by the pizzeria to pick up his uniform. There he’d found out there was another guard, Kyle Hudson. He and her would be alternating days, he’d have Monday, she’d have Tuesday. Sunday would switch between them every week, she had more experience being a guard so she got Sunday this week.

The nineteen-year-old looked around the office, even though he’d wanted the job badly Cole couldn’t deny he was nervous. He’d never been left in charge of guarding a place by himself, or at night at that. Well, he’d looked after his younger brothers when his parent’s went out while he still lived with them. It hardly counted though, he and his brothers just wasted the time playing video games. Now he was by himself, in a mostly darkened building, one he was hardly familiar with. 

Cole shook his head, taking a breath to calm himself. Get familiar with things, it’ll help, he told himself. 

Cole picked up the camera control tablet, it was pretty neat he supposed. He clicked through the cameras, looking for the animatronics. If he was supposed to guard them, then learning where they were would be important. Finding the main three was simple, Bonnie, Chica and Freddy were in the biggest room after all. Balloon Boy and the Puppet were in an alcove, the prize corner, in the right hall. Foxy was in an alcove, aptly named Pirate Cove, to the left. Out of the bunch Cole felt Foxy was his favorite, if only because he was a fox. Mangle was in the play room, a medium-sized room just below the Prize corner.

On the day he’d dropped by for his uniform, along with his badge and name tag, Gregor had given him and Kyle a walkthrough of the pizzeria. This included being introduced to the animatronics they’d be looking after. Gregor explained that the Mangle was actually Fun Time Foxy, but was referred to as Mangle because the animatronic was always torn apart in the second pizzeria. They’d adjusted the animatronic’s parts a bit to be better suited but the name Mangle had stuck. For the public though Mangle was called Fun Time for short, and to avoid confusion with Foxy.

Currently Mangle was in one piece, standing upright on her stage. Unlike Foxy, Mangle had a parrot on the left shoulder. The small animatronic bird was of course actually attached to the main animatronic.

Cole had just changed to one of the hall cameras when the desk phone suddenly went off. Despite himself the young man jumped in surprise. Quickly realizing what it was he looked to the phone. It was a recording, timed to go off at twelve am. Remembering that Gregor said he’d leave training recordings Cole reached over and pressed the play button.

“Hello, hello, welcome to your first night at working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.” As the recording continued Cole relaxed in his chair, focusing on what was being said. Cole arched a brow as Gregor’s tone shifted oddly, “Alright, the animatronics. They...have a night mode. They move around at night. It’s just something to keep their joints loose. They’ll wander around, and probably head over to you. This wouldn’t be an issue…but, due to a glitch in programming that’s carried through all the models-they’ll think you’re an endoskeleton. No one knows why this is, but it is. Something to do with coding, I’m no programmer. Point being, it’s not very safe to let them near you.”

Upon hearing this Gregor’s hairs stood up on the back of his neck. What in the world was he hearing? Wasn’t his job supposed to be to guard the animatronics? Not protect himself from them!

“I know what you’re thinking, but listen. We’ve taken precautions to keep you safe. That’s what this recording is for. Listen, stay calm, and you’ll be fine.”

Cole shook his head, this is insane, he thought, I’m just a college student!

Hearing the sound of padded footsteps Cole froze in his chair. Quickly he snatched up the camera tablet and flicked to the main stage. Bonnie was missing from the stage. Frantically he flipped through the cameras trying to find the large bunny. To his relief Bonnie had somehow made its way into the parts and services, the mechanic’s, room. Cole’s relief died when he realized he didn’t know how to deal with the bunny if it got too close. 

Recalling the recording he leaned forward on the desk, urging the call to go faster, “Come on, get to what to do!”

“The doors on your left and right are heavy, steel, magnetic doors. Once they slam down nothing should be able to get through. You’ll also notice the vent, Mangle is the one to namely use that but occasionally the others will too…Toggle the camera view and it’ll show you the vent. On the vent screen you’ll be able to seal that vent off. Be careful of having the vent and the doors closed. Going too long without air flowing in there could make you see things.”

In a snap Cole shut both of the doors, the heavy doors falling with loud simultaneous slams. Then he toggled to the vent cam screen, and it showed the middle of the vent that lead to the security office. He gave a faint sigh of relief when he saw nothing was inside it.

“There’s also the flashlight. All of the animatronics have a restart glitch that’s caused by sudden bright flashes. If one does get too close use the Freddy head in the corner of the office. You’ll want to move that to the desk or somewhere within reach. They’ll think you’re an animatronic if you’re wearing the mask.”

Grabbing the big heavy Freddy head Cole dropped it down onto the desk with a hallow thud. With a bit of a searching the college student found the flashlight in the bottom drawer, and put it on the desk next to the empty costume head. 

“Now we’re just starting out, we had a good opening day today, but we still need to spend money wisely. Building the animatronics was still pretty costly even if we did basically get them for half off. So, there’s a power budget at night. After so long the power has been set to cut off. Don’t worry it’s still pretty high, plenty to get through the night. Those doors do spend a lot of energy, so does the vent, so keep that in mind. The cameras and lights do too, but the ones we got are pretty energy efficient, not top of the line but still good.

It’s Monday so they won’t be too bad tonight, but try and stay in the room. It’s safest here obviously, and the front doors will be locked till dawn. We don’t want them…wandering out. That’s your job, to watch them. Make sure they don’t do anything to get out, or if someone gets in keep the animatronics from getting them. Our image is bad enough already. We had someone people come in wanting to see the boss, relatives of one of the guards.”

One of the guards that got killed! Cole thought to himself frantically. 

The fact he was locked in with the killer robots made his heart go cold. He looked back to the control pad, worriedly he looked at the power. He’d only chewed through two percent, but the doors were causing it to drop, as showed by the power use meter. He bit his lower lip, mind weighing whether or not it would be alright to raise the doors. Quickly he checked the main stage, Freddy and Chica were both still there. He checked back in the mechanic’s room, Bonnie was gone. Cole’s heart beat picked up again and he searched around for the bunny, finding it in the main party room. The college boy felt a chill go through him when the guitarist animatronic was staring right at the camera, jaw hung open showing all of its blunt teeth.

Cole perked when he realized Gregor was still talking, he hoped he didn’t miss anything important. “Mangle Balloon Boy won’t be moving tonight. Freddy shouldn’t either…but keep an eye on him, not really sure how he works. Other than that, keep the music box at the prize corner wound. The Puppet is probably the most dangerous of the bunch…That’s it for now, I’ll keep you updated if we find anything. Just keep an eye on things, keep calm, and things should be fine. Just to let you know we’re not responsible to any injure to person, or death of person.”

Cole stared at the phone as Gregor wrapped up his message, he couldn’t be hearing this right.

“Once everything is cleaned up we will file a missing person’s report should death occur. So, stay alert, watch the cameras and the power, and I’ll see you next time.”

The recording ended with the clunk of the phone being hung up. Cole sat staring at the phone like it was a foreign object he’d never even heard of before. This was insane, this whole situation was insane! How could Gregor just talk about this like it was no big deal? He was locking him in here with killer robots that could probably bite his damn head off! Cole looked worriedly to the time on the control tablet, it hadn’t even been ten minutes! He swallowed, giving a shaky breath, gripping the control pad for comfort. He could get through this, he’d just keep the doors down as long as he could. Then maybe wear the Freddy head the rest of the way, and check the vent every so often. Yeah, that’s what’d he’d do then he’d be fine.

He couldn’t just keep the doors down. It was just barely one am and the doors had eaten through over ten percent of his power. Reluctantly he pulled up the doors, and almost breathed a sigh of relief when the power drain slowed to hardly a crawl. He inhaled shakily, his hands shivering from restrained fear. If he was going to check the cameras and use the lights he needed some power to spare. The lights for outside his door he found under the door buttons, the cameras had lights too. If the flash light stalled them, then then surely those would too.

Tentatively Cole flicked through the cameras again. He jumped in his seat when he saw that Freddy was looking right at the camera, what was startling wasn’t just that. He bear’s animatronic eyes seemed to have vanished, and were replaced by a blackness housing a small orb of light. The bear knew he was watching, Cole could feel it and it chilled him, but he couldn’t break the bear’s gaze.

Cole let out a startled yelp when his vision was suddenly assaulted by flashes of images. They were so quick that he could barely make out what was shown, but it seemed to have been a hallow eyed bear. In his mind though he heard garble, metallic voice repeating, “It’s me” over and over. The sound of static was clawing at the insides of his mind like nails on a chalkboard, it was all he could hear! Then it just stopped, leaving the young man’s mind muddled and confused.

Breathing quick, Cole pried his hands from the camera pad. His hands had a death grip on it as a result of the vision. Cole held his head trying to calm himself, to steady his breath. He shook his head trying focus himself. Cole stared at the camera view, Freddy was looking forward again. Softly he asked aloud, “What was that?”

Hearing shifting in the background outside the office Cole quickly dismissed the incident, picking up the control pad again. He flicked around finding Bonnie in one of the party rooms. Chica was in the kitchen, he’d found her moving around a while after Gregor’s recording finished. He was fine with both of them being where they were and went to wind the music box again.

Sitting in the chair Cole began to think. Wondering if this job would be worth it. It was terrifying, that was for certain, but it wasn’t too bad so far. Long as he didn’t slack off, kept on his toes, he’d be able to manage. The animatronics weren’t exactly hard to hear coming with their heavy footsteps. He looked at the camera tablet, thinking to himself, Maybe I’ll give it a week…see how the later days are, then decide…

Cole just needed this job to pay for fundamentals, food, bills, clothing. Everything that needed to be paid. His pail grants paid for his classes and books, but that was all. He’d just moved out of his parent’s home. Cole had needed some space from his much younger siblings, both far too hyper and noisy for his nerves. After high school he’d spent a year personal break from school, just to unwind before going to college.

During that year Cole learned he was ready to be out on his own. His mother still mothering him had helped him learn that. Cole of course loved his Mom, but he could take care of himself now. It hadn’t been easy but he’d broken the news. His father, who’d been badgering about him moving out, had him moved out by the end of the week. Now he lived in a small apartment, cheap but rent still needed to be paid.

Now he had to live up to his words and manage on his own. The question now was if dealing with killer robots, risking his life each night he came here, worth it?

Realizing he hadn’t checked on Foxy in a while he picked back up the tablet. Changing to the Pirate Cove camera Cole stared, the curtain was drawn back showing an empty stage. This realization was followed by hurried animatronic footsteps coming down the hall to his left. Without thinking Cole bolted his arm out and slammed his hand down on the door button. No sooner than he did there was an ear splitting screech followed by furious banging on the door. A scrapping noise of something sharp being dragged down the metal door caused Cole to cringe at the noise, and shrink back into his chair. The college boy covered his eyes, praying the thing pounding at the door would stop soon.

When the banging finally did stop Cole carefully looked up from behind his hands. He wished he hadn’t when he saw burning yellow eyes, glaring from behind the left office window. Foxy the pirate looked far more menacing than Cole last recalled.

Getting the feeling the animatronic wasn’t going to leave on its own, Cole tentatively reached his arm out, and jabbed the light button. The light buzzed to life, lighting up the area by the window briefly. The hostility from the animatronic vanished with the flash of the light. Now it just stared at the man in the office blankly. A moment later the fox pirate turned and made its way back down the hall. Using the tablet Cole followed the animatronic and saw that it had returned back to its stage. Now it stood there like a statue, as it should.

Cole slumped down in the chair, a shaky whine of a sigh leaving his mouth. There was no way he could keep this job. This was just too much. College was going to be hard enough on his mind, but this? Risking his life every other night? 

The brunette ran a hand clumsily over his head, fingers running along the cap instead of his thick hair. He closed his eyes, trying to force calm over himself. Cole lifted up the tablet again, checking the time. He groaned seeing it was barely two thirty, still over three hours left of his shift. Aimlessly tapping the power meter Cole thought to himself, At least I’m good on power…

The teen frowned, he was going to have to quit this job. The question was when? Cole’s frown deepened as he made a hesitant decision in his mind, soon as I get another job. Doesn’t matter what. Then I’ll drop this one.

Hours passed of Cole fretfully sitting in the black rolling chair, biting into his bottom lip out of stressed habit. Finally, six am was just around the corner, it currently being five fifty-seven. The last few hours hadn’t been exactly peachy for Cole. He didn’t understand how Foxy worked. Cole had managed to thankfully cut him off each time before he could charge in, but the pounding on the door drained even more power! Safe to say that the fox had lost his spot as Cole’s favorite, then again he didn’t like any of them now. 

Sitting hunched over the camera pad Cole was uttering a repetition of “Come on” to himself, as if doing so would will time to go by faster. 

The mantra only ended when Cole realized that there were footsteps heading down the right hall, and they were near. Already in a cold sweat the young man turned his head towards the sound of pained, rasping breaths. The yellow bibbed chicken, Chica, was already through the doorway. The cupcake on her platter was chattering, almost seeming even more eager than the chicken to get a bite out of him. 

To prove this, without warning, the animatronic cupcake leapt off the plate. Cole let out a shriek as the tiny robot bit down into his arm. There was no resounding crunch but that didn’t make the pain any less. A rip sounded as Cole roughly yanked the cupcake bot off his arm and tossed it onto the ground. The little monster was surprisingly tenacious and hopped right back up at him.

Wanting no more bite marks to commemorate his first night on the job Cole punted the cretin away. The animatronic let out a grating shriek as it was sent backwards, colliding into the wall with a crack. This time it stayed down. 

Briefly Cole was thankful for the short time he played soccer in high school. The reprieve was cut short when Chica made a surprisingly fast move for him. The yellow animatronic grabbing hold of him with both hands, squeezing his shoulders with an iron clad grip. Immediately Cole began pleading that the thing let him go, all the while struggling to pull himself away. The robot’s response was to bore its violet unblinking eyes at him, the weak rasping breaths still pouring out of its beak. 

Preparing for the worst Cole clenched his eyes closed as hard as possible. If the end was coming, he didn’t want to see it. He was left confused when nothing happened after a few agonizing moments of waiting. Blue eye still closed he furrowed his brows in apprehensive confusion, wasn’t the thing supposed to drag him off or bite him? 

Slowly and carefully he opened his eyes. Chica was still there, standing over him, but something was different. The malice and dangerous air the animatronic had given off was gone. Calmer, albeit still wary, Cole noticed that the grip on his shoulders had lessened, and the breathing was gone as well. 

Cautiously Cole slipped out from Chica’s slackened hold and picked up the tablet, his eyes not once leaving the chicken. Once he was a few steps away from the robot Cole dared to look down onto the screen. It was six am. A sigh of complete relief wafted from the college student’s mouth, that explained it. The robot’s night mode had deactivated just in time.

Needing a moment to calm down Cole slumped back into the desk chair. He moved to put hand on his forehead, but winced when it was connected to the arm that the cupcake had bitten. Wanting to check the damage he looked down at his arm. The bite had just broken the skin, most likely when he yanked it off. It wasn’t much, just bits of blood seeping out, the indents the tiny bot had left were more noticeable. 

Once he was calm enough Cole pulled himself from the chair and headed for the entrance. No way would he’d be able to move Chica out of the security office. The dayshift would just have to move it. He had a lot to think about before he went to sleep tonight. He’d also needed to find a way to fix the tear in his uniform, whether he was going to come back or not. Either way he was certain he was going to have that animatronic in his nightmare tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A simple night this time, Cole got lucky he got Monday. Animatronics are slugging on the first night of the week, and he still cut it close...  
> I always wondered why Mangle had an extra head. Where the hell did the kids get that if it wasn't part of the bot? The parrot was my attempt to explain that. Considering fun time foxy was a more kid friendly version of Foxy who was a pirate. Fun Time still sort of kept the pirate theme with parrot. I've seen some people make it a puppet but I felt the parts would be much smaller for that, the head attached looked pretty sizeable. This is my own AU story so I went with it, tell me what you think.
> 
> Death is coming pretty soon, hold on guys~


	7. Night Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Kyle's turn to take the night shift at Freddy's...

Chapter 7: Night Three

 

Kyle stared at the phone as it continued to play the recording. She’d just heard about how the animatronic could, and would, kill her if they got ahold of her. Kyle felt both fear and anger mixing inside of her. Fear for the obvious danger and anger for being blatantly lied to. Yet because of the lock on the doors she couldn’t leave. Her key wouldn’t mean a thing to a separate lock, she was stuck here. So, for her own benefit, Kyle sat there listening to Gregor as he continued speaking. 

“Since you’re here on a Tuesday, they’ll be particularly active. They get more active as the week goes on. All but Freddy will be active tonight, but keep an eye on him just in case. Not sure how he works really. Keep an eye on Foxy too…I’m not a hundred percent clear on him. The recording I found was very old. With him it has something to do with the cameras…Just keep an eye on him just in case. Mangle really likes using the vents, there’s only one so keep an eye on it. Balloon Boy, should be harmless. His mouth can’t move and he’s very small.”

Kyle shifted in her seat a little, only one out of seven was harmless. Least it was something she supposed. The woman felt fear twinge inside as she heard noises come from different directions around her. They were moving. Quickly she picked up the control tablet and quickly flicked around the cameras. Both Bonnie and Chica were no longer in their spots, leaving Freddy to stand vigil alone on stage. 

Turning to Kid’s Cove, the play room, Kyle saw that Mangle was no longer on stage. She looked around for the fox. When she did find the Mangle it was hanging upside down from the ceiling. The fox’s mouth was hung open wide as if it were smiling, showing off all its round pointed teeth, and more chillingly the second endoskeleton mouth at the back. One of its eyes seemed to be missing, leaving a black hole with a small white glowing orb. 

Kyle stared at the sight, what in the world is going on? She found herself thinking, What sort of programing glitch would cause a robot to take out its own eye? Or crawl on the ceiling for that matter! Something in her gut went cold when she found no answer. If she made it out of this, she was going to have serious talk with Gregor.

“Keep the Puppet’s music box wound and you won’t have to deal with him. Which is best…keep the box wound. That’s all of them, oh,” Kyle arched a brow when the man’s voice grew stiffer, “Try not to damage the animatronics. The other guard, Cole, managed to snap Carl the Cupcake’s candle off last night. Any damage to the animatronics will be deducted from your pay.”

The night guard felt her lips twitch in irritation. It sounded like Gregor was more concerned for the animatronic’s condition than her life! Honestly she felt like applauding the kid for defending himself from a killer robot! Cupcake or not! Just when Kyle felt like she couldn’t get any more ticked off at the guy he managed to impress her. Then Gregor told her about their policy should she be injured or worse killed on the job.

Kyle sat there and stared at the phone. She couldn’t have heard that right, but she knew she had. There was no way her mind was creative enough to make that up. 

“This is insane.” Was all she managed to say in response. 

Peeling her blue eyes from the phone to the control tablet Kyle forced herself to put that moment behind her. She had a job to do, and her life literally depended on it. Checking on Pirate’s Cove Kyle felt herself gulp when she saw Foxy’s glowing eyes peeking out from behind the curtain. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, she could do this, she could make it out of this alive. 

Still Kyle knew she had a long night ahead of her. 

Two hours had passed and Kyle’s heart was beating at a steadily quick pace, trying to manage the power was weighing heavily on her mind. She was doing decently so far, at least she thought so. She had sixty-five percent power left. What drained her was checking the cameras. She had to check on Foxy, Freddy, the vent, wind the Puppet’s box. Kyle had given up on trying to flip through the cameras constantly to keep tabs on them all. She figured it was just best to check in on Chica and Bonnie occasionally. They didn’t seem to shift around very quickly.

Currently Chica was in the kitchen. Kyle didn’t even need to check that through the cameras to know that. She could hear the bot bumping against things from her office. Bonnie had his back turned to the camera in the mechanic’s office. He’d been standing there for almost an hour now, seemingly staring at the empty masks lined up on a shelf. It made something inside Kyle twists slowly. She was going to click on away on the screen when static started popping into the screen. Kyle arched a brow questioningly as static flowered into the screen until it was covered entirely. 

When it cleared Kyle jumped back in her chair. The bunny’s fake, animatronic, eyes were staring right up at the camera. Taking a deep breath Kyle switched the camera, trying to ignore the thudding in her chest.

They’re just robots, she told herself, They’re just following their programming. Don’t let it get to you. 

Echoing metallic thuds caused Kyle to raise her head, looking up towards the vent entrance above the desk. Quickly she toggled to the vent camera. The night guard was bewildered to find not Mangle but Balloon Boy’s smiling face looking towards the camera. Notably its “Balloons!” sign was gone. 

Kyle shook her head. The animatronic was the only harmless one so dismissing its presence she changed the camera to Pirate cove. The pirate fox was still peering around the glittering show curtain, hook looking ready to pull it back. Foxy’s head was low, preparing to spring from the stage at a moment’s notice. Looking back to the time Kyle gauged how long it’d taken for the Fox to change positions. About an hour she figured. 

Briefly she checked back in with Freddy to find the bear still standing squarely at the center of the stage. Winding the music box Kyle did a mental check list, everything was accounted for. And with Balloon Boy in the vent she figured she didn’t have to worry about Mangle much. Kyle relaxed slightly in the black rolling chair. So far so good, she was halfway through hour two.

Hearing a padded thudding, in what sounded like the hall, Kyle aimed her finger to switch to the corresponding camera. She shook her head and picked up her flashlight instead, putting the control tablet down. If the light really caused a restart glitch, then peeking down the hall with the flashlight would be safe. Getting up from the office chair Kyle carefully peeked her head out of the office room. The light from her flashlight landed right on the bib of Chica the Chicken, putting a spotlight on the worlds “Let’s Eat”. Both the cupcake and its platter was gone, leaving the animatronic’s bulky limbs placed almost limply at its sides.

The animatronic seemed to spot her, it’s head twitched repeatedly to the side. Kyle felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle up when a garbled, choking, noise leaked from the animatronic. Shakily the chicken’s head righted itself, the beak opening slowly. The unnatural noise turned into a wail as the robot’s hands raised up.

A panicked rush surged through Kyle and she quickly flicked the light up to the robot’s eyes. The noise abruptly stopped and the animatronic’s arms went limp at its sides. Not risking anything further Kyle pulled herself back into the office and onto the chair. She breathed heavily, hairs still standing on end. Kyle swallowed and gave another labored breath. She stared blankly at the corner of the office trying to understand what just happened. 

She was given no reprieve when she heard the sounds of multiple animatronics shifting around in the pizzeria. Kyle looked around wildly, her mind suddenly going blank on what to do. More thudding came from the vent, she jerked her head back up to it. Kyle stared wide eyed at the cheerily offsetting face of Balloon Boy leering down at her, liked it’d caught her doing something. Kyle could only stare back unable of what to make of the small animatronic. What was she supposed to do about this? The animatronic was supposedly harmless, should she do anything?

Hearing more footsteps shifting around her Kyle disregarded the small boy robot, and looked to the control tablet. Freddy was still on stage, she ignored the fact he was looking towards the camera and moved on. Chica was thankfully heading her way back towards the party room. Bonny was unfortunately making his way down to her. Foxy was now off the stage, its hook hung in the air, turned towards the hall. Frantic the night guard went through her mental list again. Changing to the prize corner Kyle didn’t even check to see how charged the music box was when she pressed down hard on the button 

As the cranking noise sounded Kyle’s ears picked up on something else creeping towards the office. At first it was faint but steadily grew louder, from a strange background noise to a low hiss. Quickly it drew the guard’s attention, she looked back towards the right office door. The sound was now louder, sounding like a static filled radio transmission. 

“What in the…?” Kyle muttered stiffly. Recalling her task, she looked back to the pad screen. The music box meter full, the guard checked in the hall camera to the right. She was met with a brief wave of static, then an empty hall. Whatever had been there was gone now, and judging by the sound, growing nearer. 

Kyle was going to turn on the hall light when she heard footsteps heading down the left hall. Switching to that camera Kyle was stunned to see Bonnie standing in the hall. Quickly the screen was swarmed with static. Footsteps followed shortly after. Bonnie was closing in from the left, Balloon Boy was in the vent, and something was coming down the right hall. Not to mention Foxy was ready to lung at her. 

The night guard cringed as the static sound became blaringly loud. Covering her right ear Kyle looked over to the right again. She jumped in her chair seeing Mangle looking at her from the other side of the window. The noise was coming from the white and pink fox, whose mouth almost seemed unhinged with how low it was hanging open. Mangle’s eyes were fixed right on Kyle with an unblinking stare as the sound spewed out. The second set of eyes on Mangle’s shoulders also stared. Then Kyle noticed the parrot was also missing an eye. Leaving only a tiny pupil of white light staring out. 

Hearing footsteps coming in more steadily from her left Kyle recalled the other incoming animatronic. Bonnie was coming in faster. Unwilling to take her eyes off Mangle, Kyle stared at the animatronic thinking, Is the noise drawing them in faster?

Things had gone from good to terrible in one fell swoop. She needed to find a solution and fast. Kyle quickly used the flashlight on Mangle’s eyes before rushing over and slamming the left door down. Not checking if the animatronic was at the doors yet. Turning back to the right the night guard felt her heart stall, Mangle had advanced to the doorway. The fox’s upper torso was turned around the office entrance. The horrid noise still scrapping against Kyle’s eardrums. 

Then the night guard remembered something. With reflexes faster than Kyle knew she had she bent down and pulled the Freddy mask over her face. The mask not meant for a person to wear, was stuffy, and rather heavy, weighing down on her neck. Sitting completely still Kyle stared at the fox, hoping that the ruse would work.

A weight was lifted off of Kyle when the noise stopped coming from the fox. It stared at her a moment longer before turning and leaving. A confused look come over Kyle when there was a series of receding clanking from the air vent. Looking up from the Freddy mask the night guard saw that Balloon Boy had also left. She pulled the mask off and put it down, disregarded the occurrence.

Kyle took only a moment to gather herself before looking back over to the left window. It was more difficult to see the bunny, with its darker color, but Kyle could make out the animatronic’s form. 

The moment of emergency over, Kyle gave herself another moment to breath and gather her nerves. The bunny would probably leave once it registered the door was shut. Feeling a little steadier Kyle picked up the control tablet again. It was nearly three am, she was basically halfway done. A breath caught in her throat when she heard a series of rushed footsteps rushing towards her location. Kyle cringed as something began banging on the closed doorway of her office.

Checking the control panel Kyle saw Foxy had left Pirate’s Cove. She turned and clicked the lights hoping that would get the fox to go away, maybe Bonnie too. A moment after there were some footsteps heading away from the door. Bonnie on the other hand seemed content to stand by the window. Kyle looked at her power meter, she was nearing fifty percent. Her stomach knotted itself once, hoping the bunny would leave soon.

Quickly she did a check of their locations, Freddy was thankfully still on stage. She checked the hall were Foxy was to be heading down. Only to see static for a moment and then an empty hall. Confused she went to Pirate’s Cove. Static and then it cleared, the curtains were drawn back around the stage. Kyle found this as odd, but guessed it was part of the fox’s programming. At least the animatronic was away from her.

A couple of flips later Kyle found Balloon Boy and Chica were both in the main party room. Mangle was hanging from the ceiling in one of the side rooms. Leaving the only one near her was Bonnie.

She was about to put down the tablet when she recalled the other, supposedly most dangerous, animatronic the Puppet. Quickly she flipped to the prize corner and wound the music box. That taken care of she leaned back into her chair, this job was way more stressful than she thought it’d be.

“Least I have company…” Kyle muttered to herself, looking at her killer robot companion with a sideways glance.

It was ten minutes later when Bonnie finally decided to leave the guard be and wandered away. Once he was gone Kyle did another check of the pizzeria. During her check she thought she’d seen something head into the back hall that led to the mechanic’s room. Thinking it might be Bonnie she followed through the cameras. Coming to the parts and services room she found it empty. She checked the hall and there was nothing. 

Kyle shook her head, “I’m so on edge I’m seeing things…”

 

In the sealed away backroom there was a deep shroud of darkness. The walls of the room couldn’t be seen making it seem vastly larger than the small room actually was. The old, withered, and rotting Springtrap sat against the wall of the room it’d been left at. The animatronic’s head twitched. Lifeless eyes staring out at nothing, but seeming focused on something that wasn’t there. A few attempts to get up and move were made, but its locked joint kept it firmly in place. Urging a garbled, frustrated, growl from its throat.

Another noise caught the animatronic’s attention. In one of the front corners of the room a pair of small white orbs stared at him. A pair of distorted words were repeated over and over as the eyes were jerked around erratically.

The growl in Springtrap’s throat grew until the animatronic let out a furious shriek at the other entity.

 

“What was that?” Kyle asked aloud to herself. She swore she just heard a noise, it was muffled and distant but she’d heard something. Looking at the camera screen she flipped though the cameras but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Kyle shook her head tossing it up to her imagination again.

Gradually the time slipped by with nothing new happening. It was now five thirty, Kyle rubbed her tired eyes. It’d been a while since she’d worked a night job and the last leg of the shift was beginning to get to her. Drearily she casted her eyes down at the screen that’s brightness was starting to sting. She had twelve percent power left, which was a relief. Hearing a shifting Kyle turned her head towards the noise. Seeing nothing was at the window she eased up just slightly.

The sound of something moving in the air vent prompted Kyle to switch to the vent cam. Kyle felt her hair bristle at the sight of Mangle’s leering face. The night guard wasted no time in slamming down the vent block. As she listened to the sound of the animatronic retreating back down the vent Kyle heard two others heading towards her. One down each hall. Wanting to conserve power she readied herself to put on the heavy Freddy mask. 

She was about to put the mask on when she heard that distant sound again. Kyle still couldn’t place what it was so she flipped through the channels again. Once more nothing seemed out of place. Hearing the animatronics nearing she quickly put the tablet down, swore to herself, and put the mask on.

Bonnie and Chica stared at her from each side of the office through the hard windows. Kyle had assumed that they’d just turn and leave after a moment but they didn’t. The chicken and bunny animatronics stared at her with unblinking gazes. They weren’t so much as twitching this time. Both were completely still. Kyle faintly worried that it wasn’t working this time. Nothing happened despite her thoughts, yet they two animatronics didn’t move. It was almost like they were standing sentinel. Waiting for the guard to return to their sights.

Ten minutes passed and they were still standing there. The mask was making her neck swore from holding its weight up. She wanted to take it off but Kyle worried moving would set the animatronics off. 

When only fifteen minutes were left in her shift Kyle made a snap decision and muttered, “Screw it.”

Quickly she shut both of the doors before the animatronics could react. Both metal doors fell down with heavy thuds. She wasted no time to relieve her neck of its heavy load. Her worn exhale stalled midway. The mascots had begun shaking, twitching, and letting out garbled noises. Kyle felt smaller as their gazes bared down on her, but so long as the doors were up and the power stayed strong she’d be fine.

A few minutes before six am Bonnie and Chica left their positions behind the windows and returned to the stage. Kyle took that as a sign that she was in the clear. Once the clock ticked to six am she let out long held in breath.

Pushing back from the desk Kyle stood up, readying to leave the office. Standing just before the doorway she hesitated. Carefully she looked around at the hall, nothing. Not trusting it she went back to the camera tablet and checked all the cameras. It was almost surreal what she saw. All the animatronics were back in their places, like they’d never moved. Mangle even had its missing eye back. 

Kyle decided to leave the occurrence be and just head home. She needed sleep, and to get a hold of Gregor so she could have a nice long talk with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a while, I'm back in college and chemistry is proving to be a bit of a pain. Anyway, here's the chapter!  
> I really enjoy working with Mangle, definitely in my top favorite animatronics along with Springtrap and the Puppet.  
> Death is taking a bit to get to but I'm getting there.


	8. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the day a child spots something, mean while Herald is being stalked by something that isn't there...

Gregor sat in the security room watching the recording from the previous night. The recording was set to play at a faster speed so he wouldn’t have to sit for six whole hours. He still couldn’t see what was happening inside the office, or just outside the doors. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to fix that immediately. He needed to speak with Herald about that. Who, speaking of which, hadn’t come in yet. Herald had shown up on their opening day but left early. Gregor hadn’t known that until he went back to speak with him-just to discuss how well it was going. The next day when he arrived Gregor had talked to him after he arrived, he seemed really on edge. This naturally drawn to ask what was wrong, but his boss just dismissed the question. Gregor had been skeptical but accepted the answer. He’d left early that day, saying he was going to handle the rest at home.

I’ll need to start calling him to discuss things. It’s still busy during the day and I need to do my job. Gregor thought to himself, as he continued to watch the recordings. He sighed when it finished. He couldn’t really tell much from the recordings, but he watched them anyway to see if something new happened. Far as he knew Kyle had handled it well. No bits of ripped fabric were found, no blood either. The animatronics were even in their proper places.

Gregor wondered if either of them would return to the job. Not likely for obvious reasons. He hadn’t heard back from Cole or Kyle yet. Gregor had thoughts that Kyle may still be sleeping after her shift. It was still early in the day. He’d wait a while longer before putting out advertisements for the position again. Another thing he’d need to get in touch with Herald for.

The guard looked at his wristwatch. He should have sped up the recording a little more, it was just about opening time. Getting up from the rolling chair Gregor head out of the security office and over to the front. Once he entered the lobby the receptionist, Cathy, greeted him as had become routine since she began working with them.

“Right on time Gregor, I was about to open it myself.” Cathy said, as she sat at the reception area, keys in hand.

“Looks like it.” Gregor stated. He pulled the keys from his pants loop and looked through them for the right one, “And it is my job, leave it to me.”

“I know,” Cathy began, putting her own keys away, “But I am right here.”

“When I’m on shift it’s my job, don’t worry about it.” Gregor reaffirmed, dismissing the point she was getting at, as he found the key he was looking for. Unlocking the front doors, opening the pizzeria for business, he turned back to Cathy, “Any call from Griffith?”

The receptionist shook her head, “No, nothing yet.” Cathy continued to speak as she looked through a few applications she had. “He may still come in, but I can’t say for sure. We also got a few more applicants for the night guard position.”

Gregor arched a brow and walked over to the reception area, “And how many of those are Fazbear Fright enthusiasts?” Cathy’s partially amused smile gave him his answer before she even spoke. Gregor shook his head while irately grumbling, “Last thing we need is one of those guys pulling a stunt during the night shift…” 

Cathy nodded, “One of them asked if we’ve seen any ghosts.”

Inwardly Gregor stiffened at the mention. Quickly he shook it off by shaking his head, “Nonsense.”

Looking at the receptionist Gregor couldn’t gather whether she agreed or not. She went on to say, “I told them that our positions were full and tossed their applications, so we won’t have to worry about them.”

“Good, and the others?” Gregor asked, he was handed three applications. As he skimmed over them Cathy finished up her little report.

“I also told them that our positions were full, but that we would call them back if the position opened up again.” 

Gregor nodded approvingly, “Good.” He stopped skimming over the applications and headed back to the security room, “If you need me, you know where I’ll be.”

“Try not to fall asleep.” Cathy said as he left, getting a moment of pause from the guard. She smiled at him with a mix of joking and vague worry, “You don’t look like you got much sleep last night.”

Recalling last nights’ nightmare Gregor stiffened. He offhandedly rubbed the bags under one of his eyes, they felt more sunken than he recalled. The guard in purple continued on his way to his office, not looking at the receptionist as he responded, he’d felt the strings so vividly in his dream, “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.”

 

The smell of pizza was flowing through Freddy Fazbear’s along with the sound of cheerful, catchy, music. It was time for the titular bear’s show, virtually every kid in the pizzeria was rushing over to the main party room to watch. The previously mechanically moving robots that had looped motions over and over were now seemingly full of life! Lights were turned down and the party was underway. Very few wanted to miss it, leaving the other rooms low on occupants as crowds moved to where the part was. One such room was Kid’s Cove, where one child was just climbing out of the ball pit. Sitting on his head was a Chica cap, the bill had fake teeth lining the sides.

Hearing the show, the boy hurried from the play room and into the hall. He stopped at the prize corner, blinking he backed up a few steps and tilted his head back. He swore that he saw something. He furrowed his brows confusedly, looked back to the main party room before taking a few steps into the prize corner. He looked at the prize counter where he’d gotten his cap a short while ago, the person that had been there was gone now. 

“Hi!” Pipped Balloon Boy as he walked past him. 

The boy smiled and waved, before continuing towards the big present. As he peeked around the side of the box, looking towards the back, he knitted his brows at what he saw.

 

Gregor was keeping an eye on the main party room when he heard a young voice call for his attention. Turning his head he saw a three or four-year-old, wearing a Chica cap, looking up at him from the right doorway. Gregor turned his chair to face him, putting the tablet down, thinking that the boy had probably lost his parents. 

“Did you lose your parents?” He asked, as he did he noticed the boy didn’t look at all distressed. In fact, he looked eager with a smile on his face. Gregor furrowed his brows slightly, wondering what the kid wanted.

“Can I tell you something?” He asked, looking up at the guard from under his cap, glancing around in a secretive manner.

Gregor nodded, “Go on.”

“There’s a boy behind the box in the prize room.” The little boy barely whispered.

Brow arched Gregor looked at the boy questioningly, “Oh? Does he need to find his parents?”

The kid shook his head, “Nu-uh, he doesn’t like grownups.” Gregor’s expression turned perplexed when he heard this. The boy leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone, “He’s really mad at you.”

Gregor wasn’t sure why but he felt a cold bristle run up his spine as he heard the boy’s words. He was going to ask why the child was mad at him, and what he looked like, when the boy’s mother came into the scene. Gregor had been so focused on what the child had said that when she showed he’d lifted his head in surprise.

The mother grabbed her kid’s hand then gave the guard an apologetic look, “I’m so sorry.” She looked to her kid, “Don’t bother the guard unless somethings wrong Ethan.” She looked back to Gregor, seeming earnestly embarrassed, “Thank you for watching him.”

It took a moment for Gregor to find a response, “Uh, yes, no need to thank me.”

The mother flashed another apologetic smile. She tugged her boy’s hand, urging him down the hall, “Come on Ethan, you’re going to miss Freddy’s show.”

“Aw, can’t I talk to the guard a little more?” Ethan whined sadly, though still followed his Mom’s lead.

“You don’t want to miss the show do you?” The mother questioned.

“No, I don’t.” Ethan answered in a partial mumble. Perking up again he looked back and smiled at Gregor, “Bye security guard!”

Gregor nodded curtly to the boy, “Bye.”

When the boy, and his mother, were out of sight Gregor looked back to the camera screen and changed it to the prize corner. He relaxed slightly when he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but the child’s words echoed in his mind. Just when he thought he’d shaken them off they bounced right back. 

With a frown he thought about what he’d been told, a boy behind the box, that hates adults and is mad at me… Gregor felt his jaw tighten, and the animatronics are haunted by children. The image of Puppet’s haunting eyes flashed in his mind and the guard felt his body stiffen reflexively. The sound of someone else approaching his office snapped Gregor out of his moment of dread. With a turn of his head he found himself looking at Kyle Hudson. Even with her agitated look Gregor preferred this over his previous train of thought. 

“We need to talk.” Kyle said as Gregor expected her to. 

“I’d guess so.” Gregor said as he got out of his chair. He headed over to the front after passing his night shift worker. He stood at the side of the reception desk, catching Cathy’s attention. He motioned over to Kyle and said, “I’m going to have a small meeting with Kyle, one of our night guards. I’ll be in Griffith’s office.”

Cathy glanced at Kyle then nodded, “Got it.”

With a wave Gregor lead the night guard to towards the back and into the manager’s office, which off the side of the staff lounge. The room in of itself wasn’t very big but it still held a nicer air when compared to the casual lounge just beyond it. Gregor motioned for Kyle to have a seat while he sat on desk itself. 

“This is about the animatronics right?” Gregor predicted as he eyed his guard. He noticed she bristled at the mention. 

“Of course it is!” Kyle snapped angrily, quickly shooting up from her chair and into her feet. Even with her anger the head guard remained calm, something that went unnoticed by Kyle as she went on to rant, “What the hell kind of glitch causes robots to hunt the nearest person down? Not to mention Mangle was crawling on the ceiling like a spider and missing two eyes! None of this was in the job description!”

“First,” Gregor began, “the job description clearly states that our company is not responsible for injury or death.” He continued immediately after, cutting Kyle off before she could respond, “Second, I’m not sure what sort of glitch causes it. I’m not a programmer. Our mechanic is working on fixing the issue. As for Mangle, that animatronic is meant to fall apart and be put back together. The wall crawling, I can’t say. You must have been stressed out by the working conditions.”

“Are you saying I imagined that thing sticking the ceiling?” Kyle said stiffly as she sharply pointed up to the ceiling above them.

“Mangle is lighter than the other animatronics, but it’s not possible for anything that big to crawl on the ceiling.” Gregor lied in an even manner. While Kyle glared daggers at him he loosely crossed his arms, “You can always quit. We have a few others waiting for the position to open up.”

“Have you seen those things up close?” Kyle questioned before gesturing back to the front stage.

“I only work the day shift.” Gregor answered, then right after asked, “Are you going to quit?”

Kyle could tell Gregor wasn’t going to budge. She didn’t fully believe he was actually skeptical about what she’d seen, but his question was pressing. Kyle hated the thought of going through another night with their animatronic monsters. At same time, thinking about risking another life by leaving made her stomach turn. She also needed money to keep Jessica from worrying. Kyle found herself conflicted between her own safety and her worries for others. 

After biting her lower lip for a second she gave her answer, “I want higher pay.”

“I’ll have to talk that over with Griffith, but I’ll see what I can do.” Gregor answered evenly, inwardly he was surprised by her answer but wasn’t about to complain. Kyle just silently nodded that she understood, still clearly not happy. Gregor glanced at a clock hanging on the wall, “If that’s all…”

“Yeah, it is.” Kyle said, ending their conversation as she got up and went to the door. As she left Kyle added, “I’ll clock in on Thursday, but I want an answer by the end of the week or I’m quitting.”

She shut the door right after finishing what she said, leaving Gregor unable to object. The head of security had no problem with this and simply got up from the desk. He could call Herald at any time, he had the man’s phone number after all. Leaving the office, he headed back to his own. When he entered the main party room he saw that Clifton was almost done having the animatronics preform their show. 

Gregor walked through the room and looked over the crowd over to make sure everything was fine. When he spotted nothing Gregor headed into the hall. Once he reached his office, Gregor sat in his chair and picked up the desk phone. He’d already gotten Kyle’s answer, but what he needed was Cole’s he was the one scheduled for the night.

“Hello Cole, it’s Gregor.” The guard said once the young man picked up on the other end, “I wanted to know if you’ll be coming in tonight. Yes, I am aware of the working condition. I’ve spoken with Kyle and she’s still coming in. I’ll be speaking with Griffith about the situation today.” Gregor fells silent while Cole warily mulled his answer over. Once the answer was given the man in purple nodded, “Alright, good to hear you’ll be staying with us. Good-bye and have a good day.”

That taken care of Gregor dialed another number.

 

A phone rang in a dimly lit room that was both an office and a study. Herald Griffith sat hunched at his desk looking sleep deprived, his hands clamped down on his forehead-covering his face. The man groggily lifted his head and looked at his phone. Hand shaky he picked it up, took a moment to calm himself, and answered, “Yes? Oh, Gregor, yes I’m sorry about not showing up today. Don’t worry everything is handled. You know I’ll take care of things.”

Herald felt his blood turn cold when his ears picked up the sound of creaking. His eyes darted around trying to search for the sound, but found nothing out of place in the room. That’s how it’d been go through, he’d search for where it was coming from but find nothing. Then it’d show up wherever he wasn’t looking or when he least expected it. 

Realizing Gregor was still talking Griffith quickly spoke, “What was that?” 

He listened to the answer. His stomach turned when a rotting odor filled his sense of smell. Herald fought back the urge to react and went still when a heavy presence loomed over in front of him. Herald, frozen in place, stared when, at the edge of his vision, a pair of decrepit hands grabbed at the edge of his desk. He could see the ends of the metal endoskeleton fingers poking out the ends of some of the digits. Through the holes in the suit cover Herald could see something else, something white with dried red coating it.

“Yes, yes…I heard you. I’ll see what I can do about their pay.” Herald had to force the words to come from his mouth. He didn’t look up. He didn’t need to look up to know what was looking down at him, with those lifeless glowing eyes. Herald covered his eyes with one hand as Gregor continued, hoping that not looking would offer some reprieve. He heard the sounds of something dripping down on to his desk, in slow drops, one at a time. 

“I’ll call you when I come up with their new wages.” Herald continued, squeezing his eyes shut as words were growled into his ears. It was at his side now. Feeling the presence bear down onto him harder Herald quickly wrapped up the call, “I won’t be coming in for the rest of the week. You’ll be in charge until I get back. Everything is on my computer, you know the password. Good-bye.”

When he docked the phone back onto his desk it sounded a lot more final than it should have. The feeling of being alone weighed down strongly on him, strong as the presence that he felt circling him. Herald held his head down, staring at the desk as the gaited creaks circled him again, the smell of death hanging in the air. It wasn’t there, he knew it wasn’t actually there. It was locked away in the pizzeria! Yet here it was.

At first he only had nightmares of the animatronic, now he was seeing it in the waking world. Saying that same phrase over and over, the words were more clear now. He’d woken it, and all the others.

Herald slowly looked up, he could see Springtrap slink around to his side, just out of his vision. He looked behind him, nothing but the wall. Herald turned his head back to the front and felt his body lock up when haunted eyes met his own. The tomb called Springtrap was bearing down right in front of him. The thing twitched and jerked its head around, resulting it creaks, snaps and pops. The sight made Herald’s skin crawl, and the smell only aided the effect. 

Springtrap’s eyes twitched from the left to the right, eyeing Herald. In a snap the animatronic lunged at him. The last thing Herald remembered before passing out at his desk was a screech and blunt animatronic teeth.


	9. Night Four (part1)

Some Things Are Better Left Buried  
By: Miss-DNL

 

Chapter 9: Night 4

 

Cole Henderson stood in the parking lot of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, staring at the building with barely retained fear. The pizzeria looked a lot more frightful than it should to him. Never in his life did he expect a pizzeria of all things to look so haunting. His eyes darted from one of the front windows to the next, half expecting to see one of the animatronics waiting for him. He saw nothing but empty darkness. Cole wasn’t sure whether that comforted him or not. As he approached the building Cole figured it was better than nothing. 

Cole looked to his wrist watch, it was eleven forty-five. Earlier in the day he’d called Gregor to go over what he needed to know. Gregor warned him that the animatronics would be more active than they had on his first shift, and that all of them would be active tonight-including Freddy. That had caused Cole to swallow uneasily. Gregor stated that it, typically, took a few hours for Freddy to move. That wasn’t much but it was something. After learning all he could from Gregor Cole ended the conversation and hung up.

“It’s just till I find a new job…” Cole told himself as he grabbed the cold, unwelcoming, door handle of Freddy’s front doors. He’d put in a lot of applications, in any place he could possibly apply for, yesterday. Cole never thought he could do as many application as he had. He hadn’t gotten a call back yet, but he hoped he would soon. 

With a push, Cole went through the front doors and into the darkened Freddy Fazbear’s. He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched, from somewhere. The guard ignored the paranoid thought and headed into the security office. Cole checked his watch, it was almost eleven fifty.

Alone in the building Cole felt himself shiver, the chilly air brushing past him. With what time he had to spare Cole readied himself for the night. He put the flashlight and empty Freddy head onto the desk. From his pocket he pulled out some spare batteries for the flash light, and counted how many he had. That was the best he could do to prepare for the night he had ahead of him. 

Even though he learned the animatronics were only active after midnight Cole picked up the control tablet and flicked through the cameras-the power limit was only in effect after midnight as well. As he had been told the animatronics were all where they should be. With a small, shallow, gulp Cole tried to mentally prepare himself for his shift. He looked down at his wrist watch and savored the ten minutes he had left. While he waited Cole played the recording left by Gregor, but he just went over what Cole had already learned from him. It was nice to have a refresher though. 

Shortly after midnight Bonnie and Chica moved off the stage, Bonnie headed immediately for the hall. So far Chica hadn’t left the main party room (her cupcake unfortunately back on its plater). The chicken seemed; for the moment, content to wander back and forth. Balloon Boy had left the prize corner and was standing just outside of it, staring at the nearest camera. What had been most shocking was seeing Mangle hanging from the kitchen ceiling. Almost more worrying was the fact the music box seemed to unwind faster than it had on Monday. Thankfully, Freddy hadn’t left the stage yet.

Despite the fear running through him Cole kept himself from just slamming both the doors shut. He’d even managed to restrain himself from monitoring the cameras too much and instead only checked when he heard something move. Even still, he couldn’t figure out how to get Foxy to stay behind his curtains. Already the fox was glaring at him from between the starry show drapes.

Cole flinched when he heard the sounds of several animatronics moving at once. Cole moved to check the cameras when something purple in the left office window caught his eyes. The guard jumped his chair and slammed the left door down. Bonnie was staring at him from just behind the window, the animatronic bunny glaring him with reddish eyes. Cole backed away slowly from the door button as Bonnie’s head twitched every so often. A very similar noise to the one Chica had emitted from his first shift was now coming from Bonnie. It almost sounded like grabbled, choked, rasps. 

Despite the disturbed feeling welling up in his chest Cole sat himself back at the desk. So long as the door was down Bonnie, nor Foxy would be able to get at him. It was hard to calm himself with the animatronic staring him down, but he managed to settle himself slightly. Cole glanced back at the bunny, the animatronic’s twitching getting more unsettling. He questioned why the animatronic was behaving in such way. Was it because it was more active? Cole didn’t understand how that caused any change, or why they were being more active.

Cole decided not to ponder during his shift, he needed to focus. The guard looked back to the control tablet. He flicked through the cameras again. Chica had moved onto the kitchen, she was looking at the camera out of the corner of her eye. Cole ignored this and checked on the next, Balloon Boy, Mangle and Freddy hadn’t moved. Foxy, unfortunately had moved down from his stage. The fox’s head was hanging to the side, tilted downward at an unnatural angle that looked painful. The camera left his eyes shining with an eerie silver glow, that part of Cole questioned whether or not it was the camera doing that.

Soon after Cole felt his heart skip a beat when Foxy practically tossed himself at the closed door of the office. The fox beat his hook and hand against the door and took a small chunk of energy with him as he left. The security guard couldn’t even feel relief when the red animatronic left, because Bonnie hadn’t. The animatronic still stood just behind the glass window, twitching, staring, and uttering garbled noises.

It had almost been an hour since his shift began and because of Bonnie, Cole had to leave the door down for more than half of it! He was burning through too much power too fast! He almost used more than twenty percent!

“Just leave already…” Cole muttered to himself, as if he didn’t want the animatronic to hear him.

As if to spite him Bonnie didn’t leave, and remained where he was when Mangle tried to pay Cole a visit through the vent. He remained there when Chica dropped by. The bunny and chicken both pinned the guard down with their jittery gazes. Cole had never felt so small before. Being caught between two robots bigger than him, and no doubt stronger than him, had easily accomplished that. His dropping power didn’t help quell the feeling of panic.

Then he remembered the light glitch. After briefly berating himself about forgetting Cole picked up the flash light, flicked it on, and shined it in both robot’s eyes. To be extra sure he flicked the flashlight on and off repeatedly in each’s eyes. The animatronics stopped jerking their heads around and stared blankly, not even looking at Cole anymore. Almost like a switch was flipped the animatronics seemed to return to normal and walked away with heavy footsteps.

Once the animatronics had wandered far enough away, Bonnie to a side party room, and Chica to the main party room, Cole gladly lifted the doors back up. With a relieved sigh the night guard sunk back into his chair. He looked at the time, it was a little past one am. Cole pulled himself to sit properly in the chair and looked back to the control tablet. 

“Have to keep an eye on them.” He said to himself, reminding himself to stay diligent. 

Cole checked back through the cameras. Nothing set off any alarms until he viewed Pirate’s Cove, Foxy was gone. Frantically Cole searched for the pirate fox. Naturally he checked the left hall which led down to the security office. Foxy was nowhere to be seen. Cole couldn’t hear any rushed footsteps either. He could only hear the sound of the other animatronic’s shifting around.

“Where is he?” Cole asked aloud urgently, flipping through the cameras. He stalled when he finally found Foxy. The fox was in the right hall, head low like he was prowling. Briefly the screen flickered with static, when it cleared the fox was looking at him. The screen was then overrun with static and Cole heard hurried animatronic footsteps barreling towards him. 

Before he could even think about slamming the door down, the red fox pirate lunged through the doorway with an earsplitting screech. Cole screamed in fright and jumped right out of his chair, arms flailing in the air as he back peddled away. A sharp pop sent a shudder through Cole as Foxy’s robotic jaws snapped shut barely a couple of feet away from him. 

Cole looked from the fox to the desk, he needed to get the flashlight. The guard steeled his weak nerves and snatched the flashlight from the edge of the desk. His action didn’t go unpunished when Foxy swiped at him with his hook. Cole winced as he felt the surprisingly sharp hook scrape through his skin. 

Foxy hunched back, head jittering in the same manner that Bonnie and Chica had. It took Cole only a second to realize that the animatronic was going to lunge again. Sure enough a moment later Foxy screeched lunged, and just as quick Cole jumped out of the way and out of the security office. Foxy made a distorted noise similar to a snarl as it crept towards the doorway Cole had just exited. The fox’s yellow eyes pinned right on the frightened guard, its jaws shook on its joints waiting to snap down on the guard. 

Soon as the fox raised its hook Cole found his wits again and strobed the animatronic. Foxy froze in place, right in the doorway, head tilted at an odd angle, jaws wide open. With the light shining on the robot, Cole could see a glimpse of the endoskeleton teeth in the back of the mouth. The guard felt a brief chill at the sight, but quickly he looked around wondering what to do. He needed to get back into the office!

I’ll loop around, Cole decided to himself, Foxy will follow.

Before the fox pirate could come through, Cole hurried down the hall, towards the front entrance, to put some distance between him and Foxy. He glanced back and saw the animatronic’s head twitching. Cole uttered a restrained yelp when the red fox head suddenly snapped its attention back to him. He swore that the animatronic’s eyes were black. Cole wasn’t left with any time to dwell on his when Foxy’s earsplitting, metallic, screech tore through the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post chapters into parts.  
> Don't always expect the animatronics to behave exactly like their in-game selves, that'd get predictable.


	10. Night Four (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chase continues...

Cole pumped his legs as hard as he could, turning the corner as he entered the front lobby, heading around the front desk. The guard, flashlight still clutched in hand, could hear the animatronic fox rushing towards him. It sounded like the distance he’d put between him and the red robot meant little to nothing. Cole rounded the front desk and headed into the right hall. He almost came to a skidding halt when he saw Chica the chicken standing right in the office doorway, head inside the office. The chicken seemed to be looking for something, bulky head swerving from side to side, likely for him. The sound of the incoming red fox pirate urged Cole to hurry forward, looks like he’d need to come up with another plan.

Cole hurried past Chica before the chicken realized he was in the hall. Quick as possible he ducked into the prize corner and hid behind the counter. Pressing uncomfortably against the counter he prayed Foxy nor Chica had seen where he’d gone. In both hands he clutched the security flashlight, it was his sole deterrent.

In the hall, Foxy just turned around the corner to see the corridor lacking of night guard. The animatronic’s glowing yellow eyes, illuminated whatever it was looking at, studied the area. The fox’s twitching head perked spotting Chica, almost confusedly, looking out into the hall from the office. Foxy uttered a short, sharp, screech to catch its friend’s attention, then with suit covered feet headed towards the chicken. Chica exited the office and met Foxy halfway in the hall. 

Chica sputtered a few choked noises to the fox, which seemed to have some sort of meaning to them. Foxy gave a what seemed an acknowledging noise, similar to bark accompanied by metal scrapping together. The pirate fox moved past Chica and began stalking down the hall, with the backup singer in tow. The search for the guard was resumed. 

Foxy’s head hung low, almost at its shoulders, as it swept from left to right making sure not to miss even an inch of the hall. Hook arm sway at its side, the tip bearing a touch of dark red once again for the first time in decades. Foxy didn’t waste any time to relish the fact, it was on a mission. Only the guard’s death would do. The guard had to suffer like they were. It was the only reasonable punishment for dragging them back to this hell hole. 

Behind the slinking fox the big anthropomorphic, yellow, chicken followed with a more clunky step. Her larger, bulkier, body made it harder to creep along. With the much quicker friend; however, the fake feathered fowl didn’t need to worry. Foxy could catch a fleet footed guard no problem. The guard was out of the office, now they just needed to catch him.

Foxy stopped by the prize corner, its angular ears swiveled back and forth, listening. Chica just behind the red animatronic slunk into the room. Their pal Balloon Boy was long since gone but that was of no concern. Passively Foxy glanced its glaring yellow eyes at the music box before stalking quietly over to the prize counter itself. With hook hand and red furred hand Foxy grabbed onto the counter and peered over the side.

Underneath the prize counter Cole was curled up underneath an available space. Behind him were wires that were barely visible in the inky blackness that hid him. Soon as the pirate captain’s hook poked over the edge, digging to the glossy granite countertop, he felt himself seize up in fear. Beside it was its red furred, white rounded clawed hand. Cole could see where the fox was gazing, thanks to the glow of its eyes. A pair of yellow spot lights was dancing around in front of him. He felt like they were taunting him, that at any moment he’d be spotted. 

Go away, go away, go away, please-please go away! Cole begged in his head, hands clutching on more tightly to the flashlight. If it were alive, he’d be strangling the poor thing right now.

The sound of Foxy’s jittering jaws stalled Cole’s thoughts completely. He could feel it was growing agitated with its lack of spotting him. He could pick out the sound of the endoskeleton teeth hidden inside it clacking together. Fake teeth mashing together, accompanied by bear metal teeth. Cole gripped his stinging burning wound, his own warm blood sticking to his fingers, as he prayed for the fox to leave. 

Next to the prize corner sat the large home of the gift giving animatronic, the Puppet. The simple melody of pop goes the weasel coming from the present. Such a simple song shouldn’t fill Cole with such trepidation, but the mounting situation made it much easier. Such as the many rows of eyes peering down at him. The plush dolls sitting up on the prize shelves seemed to be gazing down at him, from the very bottom of their various colored material eyes. Like they were waiting for Foxy to lung over the counter and give them a bloody show.

Cole winced as Foxy’s hook dug deeper into the counter top and dragged forward. It was hard to see from his darkened position, but the guard could tell the hook had left a score behind it. The college boy’s eyes widened, hands gripping his flashlight once again as his mind shouted, Why in the world its hook so sharp? It’s meant to entertain kids!

The hidden night guard cringed as hook scrapped along the bottom of the counter. Finally, Foxy pulled it off, nicking the edge subtly. The red fox let out an agitated snort and pulled back from the counter, the small spot lights that were its eyes vanishing from sight. 

Withholding a relieved sigh, Cole gave himself a moment to let his shoulders drop. He waited a while long under the counter, listening to the sounds of the animatronics leaving down the hall. When the only noise he heard were distant footsteps, along with the music box playing its simple repetitive verses, the guard dared to move. Remaining cautious Cole slowly, and carefully, looked over the top of the counter. The hall was dimly lit with silvery moon light that just barely crept into the room. In dark cover of the prize room Cole spotted the prize corner camera, cam 11 he believed, turning mechanically from left to right with a faint whirr. 

Again Cole allowed himself to ease his tense posture when he spotted no animatronics in the room. Aside from the Puppet inside the box that is. Arms shaky with still flowing fear Cole began to pull himself up to his feet. One hand gripping the counter edge the other still clutching his flashlight. He halted just before straightening his back when he heard a familiar noise. 

A tiny clattering like the classic chattering teeth gag. His mind only just managed to register what it was when a shrill noise cut through the air. Next thing he knew Chica’s cupcake minion with right in his face with a flash of pink, and blinding yellow eyes. Cole felt a startled cry launch from his throat as the vengeful mini-bot bit down on his face. The blunt little gaped buck teeth dug into his face. Cole could feel meaner, secondary, metal set of teeth also digging into his skin.

Frantically the night guard tried to pry the deranged cupcake from his face, his fingers grabbing on tightly to the foamy, fake, frosting as he yanked and pulled. The tiny animatronic didn’t yield, it’s jaw strength stronger than its size would led one to believe. Amidst his struggling Cole bumped into the prize shelves behind him, leading to some of the plushies to tumbled onto the checkered ground. He yelped in surprise and soon as he did Cole realized something, he was making a lot of noise. 

Sure enough he could hear animatronics heading his way soon after the thought crossed his mind. With a surge of franticness Cole gave one final yank on the bot, ripping it from his face. Carl somehow managed to right itself in midair, landing on its cup. Its front was now speckled with bits of red. The left side of Cole’s face was enflamed with pain, he could feel and smell the blood coming from his fresh wounds. 

The guard tensed when the mini-bot seemed ready to launch itself again. Instead it stopped, seeming to notice something. Carl’s black ringed eyes darted over to the large present and it clattered almost mockingly. 

The music box was going through the last verse of its song.

Unexpectedly the mini-bot hopped its way out of the room. The Puppet’s coming arrival was enough for the tiny bot. It had done its job anyway it had gotten the guard out of his hiding space.

Cole Henderson looked from the present back to where the cupcake had bounded off to. Without another moment to allow himself to process what had happened Cole hopped over the prize counter. Soon as his tennis shoe feet hit the ground Cole bolted from the room and into the hall. Looking towards the office doorway he was relieved it was vacant of any bulky forms. 

In a few quick strides Cole was made it to what he’d hope to be salvation. Instead he was met with the sight of the band’s guitarist standing in the middle of the security office, like it’d been waiting for him. The bunny’s eyes flicked from its pinkish red to pools of blackness, housing tiny orbs of light. Cole quickly ducked back as Bonnie lunged at him, jaws first, ready to finish what Carl had started with his face. 

Undeterred by missing, Bonnie quickly lumbered forward in pursuit as Cole desperately continued to back step away. Cole ripped his gaze from the purple guitarist and headed back down the hall. The pictures of drawn by children nothing but blurry darkened colors in the sides of his eyes. 

The music box’s misleadingly carefree tune suddenly seemed to sound louder. It was coming from right behind him. Cole felt a presence looming over him. In front of him he saw a more humanoid shaped head, though the cheekbones were stretched to joker-like proportions. Just behind the shadow behind him, Cole could see a pair of bunny ears poking out from the rest of the darkness. Bonnie was behind him, but the bunny didn’t move. It was just waiting, patiently, for whatever was about to transpire to happen. 

Able to recall how to run again, Cole sprinted into the only place he could go now the main party room. As he dove headlong into the high animatronic traffic area, into the darkness that was the room, the Puppet and Bonnie calmly followed behind. There was no need for them to hurry. The lanky limbed animatronic did do one thing though, call the others to gather up. 

Hearing an ear cringing, scraping, metallic hiss come from behind him Cole ran faster. That noise couldn’t mean anything good. Sticking close to the back wall of the party room, Cole urgently continued to try and make his way back to the security office. If he could just get back inside. He ignored the fact that the blood sliding down the side of his face was beginning to drip onto the floor. He ignored the fact he was beginning to feel light headed from all the running, fear, and blood loss. 

He just had to get to the office!

From the pitch, black, darkness of the ceiling swung down Mangle’s white and pink head, jaws open letting out the same screech as its comrades. Cole could feel his face go three shades whiter as he got a good look at all of the fox’s teeth. Mangle gave a snake-like hiss as its head swiveled upright, one good yellow eye and darkness with a pin prick glaring at Cole. The guard edged away cautiously, as what was possibly the remains of Mangle’s parrot friend popped out from behind the main head. The parrot, Petey, had somehow completely shed its shell and was now nothing more than a head on a thick metal cord. In fact, Mangle had shed a lot of its suit, only the main torso and appendages still had their white fur. This left the fox’s limbs bare, leaving metal bone-like extremities showing. 

Mangle kept in step with Cole’s slow, fearful, backing away from the ceiling. Hateful, static-filled, hissing continued from the fox, yet it did not aim to strike. 

Instead Cole felt a familiar dragging slice from behind, the guard yelped and jumped back. From the side, Foxy had snuck up and scored him right on his shoulder. Yet it wasn’t as bad as the last, it was more like the pirate captain was keeping him corralled. Beside Foxy was Chica, her cupcake minion back on its plate. The little monster was clattering away, laughing at the guard’s futile situation. 

Cole was pinned in between five different animatronics, six counting Carl. Feeling something weighty in his hand Cole recalled his flashlight once again. Quickly he tried to flick it on. Panic swelled in his chest when all he got was a muted click. His breath pitched and clicked it on and off in quick succession. Nothing.


	11. Night Four (part 3)

Fruitlessly Cole smacked the side of his flashlight. He darted his dark brown eyes at the animatronics encircling him. They had stopped moving, like they were waiting for him to stop his squirming. The Puppet’s wide smile and gleaming eyes seem to be leering down at him, it almost looked like it was enjoying this.

“Hi!” Pipped a child’s voice from behind him. 

Startled the college student jumped to face what had greeted him. To his confusion Balloon Boy stood on a party table, his smile cheery as ever. In one hand was his trademark swirl colored balloon, in the other was a sign. Typically, it read “Balloons!” but now instead it read in brush stroked black letters, “It’s Me!”

“W-what?” Cole stammered. What was that supposed to mean? And why wasn’t his flash light working? The batteries shouldn’t have been close to dying yet! It’d worked just fine earlier!

The guard snapped his head back to the Puppet, and the other more pressing dangers. To vague confusion amongst fear the gift giver tilted its head to the side, peering past him. Cole fretfully knitted his brows when it pointed one of its three almost alien-like fingers over his shoulder. Was it asking him to look behind himself?

Cole feverishly shook his head. The guard’s eyes stared at the lead animatronic as it waved a hand in front of its ever wide smile. It was miming laughter. 

In mute silence Cole watched as the pierrot marionette silently hung its black hands out in the air. Its poofy, baggy, sleeves hanging in the air along with the long black strings that connected to the cross bar on its back. It was gesturing an aloof, “Oh well, then.”

From behind him a chillingly slow tune played, it sounded like he Toreador Song from Carmen only in music box form. A similar choking wheeze to the others he’d heard mixed in with the song, corrupting the gentle melody. Cole could feel breaths on the back of his head. It was right behind him.

Slowly, dreading what he was going to see, Cole looked over his shoulder. Behind him was the titular Freddy Fazbear, looming over him like a brown, plush, animatronic wall. The bear peered down at him, just over his lighter brown snout. Like the others there was no gentle, friendly-looking plastic orbs for eyes. No there was empty holes housing a small yet furiously burning pinpricks. The opera song turned music box tune played from within Freddy, coming out of his hung open mouth. 

Big brown bear hands clamped down on Cole’s sides nullifying any terribly slim chances of escape he had. Panic going through the roof Cole thrashed in the bear’s hands, but no kick the guard lashed out affected Freddy. The lead singer brought Cole closer to him, but not in a hug, but to carry him easier. The top hat wearing brown bear looked to the Puppet, waiting for a signal. 

The Puppet twirled a finger in the air, drawing its friend’s attention it then pointed to the parts and service’s room. Ignoring their prey’s protests and thrashing Freddy marched off to the back halls. The Puppet opened the door and ushered their unwilling companion inside with a sweep of its long arm.

Cole stopped thrashing for a moment to see what was in the room. Soon as he realized where he was, the night guard began screaming out his fearful, pleading, protests. He knew what was going to happen next. The empty Freddy Fazbear suit Chica and Bonnie were hauling onto the mechanic’s table was a clear message. He was about to become a part of the bloody rumors surrounding Fazbear Entertainment.

“No-No, please god no!” Cole cried, tears swelling from his eyes. He wasn’t ready to die. He didn’t want to die in such a painful manner! The night guard thrashed his hardest trying to escape Freddy’s grip. The animatronic’s hold didn’t even budge in the slightest, it had fastened down hard enough the guard could already feel bruises. 

From the sideline the Puppet watched with empty mouthed glee as its friend hauled the guard over to the suit. The utter fear on the adult’s face grew greater and greater as he neared his soon to be coffin. Tears streaked down the sides of his face, the wounded side leaving streaks of red while the other was clear. 

The Puppet’s enjoyment was ruined when the guard cried out again, “Please-please let me go! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Didn’t do anything wrong? Didn’t do anything wrong!?

A seething hiss of anger came from the Puppet, drawing its friends’ attention. The leader’s three fingered hands were clenched into tight, shaking, fits. Then with a more forceful, demanding, hiss the Puppet pointed sharply to the suit. 

Taking the order to speed things up without question Freddy sat Cole Henderson on the cold metal table, hands still holding him still. Loud, unheard, protests became begging, unheard, sobs as the chicken and bunny animatronics hoisted up the bear torso. Inside the sharp metal beams and wires meant to connect with the animatronic endoskeleton could be seen. Right now, they looked like they were waiting to cut and dig into flesh and bone. An iron maiden in the shape of a bear suit. 

“Please…don’t do this…please.” Cole begged weakly. The idea that his words were useless was grimly settling in his mind. The Puppet’s eyes no longer burned with fury, but instead glared at him with a cold indifference. The guard hung his head, tears still falling from his face, his final plea barely a whisper, “Please…”

His judge flicked his blacked clothed hand, giving the wordless sentence. In sync Bonnie and Chica shoved the torso down. Tortured screams instantly took the place of Cole’s sobbing, tearing apart the chilled night air. The beams and wires cut and sliced into his upper body. Red, red, was all he could see and all he could feel was pain. The coldness of the table was a long gone memory in the warmth of his own blood. From out of the bottom of the torso blood quickly began to drip out, especially when the two animatronics pushed the torso further down. Making sure it was fitting on snugly. They’d had practice at this, but it’d been a long while since last they did it. 

Cole’s screams hit their high point as he felt the beams and wires get dragged downward, down his body. Quickly they were replaced by bloodied chokes and faint, simpering, weeps. Where he sat was now red, the suit’s inside soaking. The last thing he saw in his reddened vision was Freddy himself readying to put the wire filled mask on his head. More excruciating pain came and the guard gave one last pained cry.

 

From within the sealed safe room Springtrap’s one, comparatively, good ear perked up. The sound of pained suffering was unmistakable, even through the thick walls. Springtrap tilted its decaying to better hear the noise. It was clear that a night guard had been caught and was currently being stuffed into a suit. The hybrid animatronic, listened quietly, waiting until the last final pained noise filtered through the walls. Then the tattered and rotting animatronic laughed, head cocked back letting hoarse, distorted, laughter escape it maw.

They knew he was dead, yet they still killed.

Springtrap leveled its head peering at where the sturdy metal door should be. Then again, it couldn’t blame them. Springtrap was just as pissed about the situation as they were.

The half scorched animatronic’s companion in the pitch black, dust filled, room was also looking towards the door. It could leave anytime it wished, but right now, it didn’t want to see its friends. Reduced to vengeful killing once again. Besides, it looked back over to the grinning bunny, it was much more worried about something else.

It was going to need to be more proactive soon, but what was it to do?

 

Out in the back hall the Puppet stopped. Hearing laughter, it hadn’t heard in a year. Honestly, it was too soon. So they were stuck in this place with him, again. The Puppet uttered a low, whispering, hiss before turning about face and heading out of the back hall. Seemed Springtrap was sealed up again, that was fine with Puppet. It’d keep an eye on things as always, day and night. There were props to being a simple animatronic. 

Puppet gave a passing glance back to the parts and services. Seemingly its already wide smile lengthened at the sight of the bloody mess inside the room. The useless flashlight the guard had been so stubbornly clinging onto was bloodied and on the floor. The Puppet figured that should send a message to the new owners rather nicely. 

The pierrot appearing animatronic looked longingly into the darkness that surrounded its thin frame. Sleep had been so comforting to its worn and broken spirit, no anger, no pain, nothing, just darkness, just sleep. Then to be rudely woken by greedy adults…absolutely infuriating…

Hadn’t they been through enough? Why did they drag them back? Why? Why? Why had they woken them?

And worst of all brought him along with them…

The Puppet’s pupils narrowed into sideways silts as it silently, not making a sound, walked through the halls. Fine, if they wanted to repeat things they’d follow suit. They’d pile up as many bodies as needed to get the place shut down. It didn’t matter of the guards were involved directly or not, they were all causing them to suffer. 

There was only one adult Puppet trusted…he’d tried so hard to put them to rest, but it’d all been put to waste.

The Puppet briefly hung its head low at the thought, but quickly raised it back up as it came to the main party room. Puppet didn’t need to worry its friends. The others were wandering mostly aimlessly, only a few still were examining their forced new home. There was still over three hours left in the night. 

With the guard taken care of, the Puppet headed back to the prize corner its black strings hovering a few inches above the ground. Its friends would screech if anyone else showed up. Arriving back at the prize corner Puppet noticed the dolls knocked off the shelf. Silently the gift giver meticulously put the plushies back on the shelf, making sure each was sat neatly and in the correct spot. Peering up the Puppet spotted a lone Fredbear plush on the top shelf. With long stripped arms the Puppet carefully, gently, took the doll off the shelf and cradled it. 

The marionette stroked the bear’s soft ear, though it could not feel the fabric. Faded memories flicked in the back of its, his, mind. He’d long since forgotten his name but that didn’t matter. The Puppet held the Fredbear doll close, he remembered his friend.

With a single motion the Puppet slipped back into his box and waited for morning to come. The Fredbear doll held close up against his three, white, buttoned chest.


	12. Turn for the Worst (part1)

The hallway of Freddy Fazbear’s pizza was dark. The checkerboard tiles barely shinned with the light from the moon. Only sound that could be heard was Gregor’s feet carefully making contact with the tiles. He looked around, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He didn’t like how quiet it was though, it felt like something was waiting for him-just out of sight. Gregor steeled his nerves and moved farther down the hall. He glanced at the pictures on the wall and smiled at all the crayon scribble drawings. To be honest some were better than the ones he had put up. 

Gregor blinked and looked around for his own, he’d drawn six. One of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Mangle, and Balloon Boy. He’d never gotten around of making one of Puppet. Safe to say he wasn’t doing one after his encounter.

Spotting the small cluster of drawing he’d pinned up he moved over to them. There they were, in all their half-baked glory. Gathered around them were drawings done by others, including the ones done by Clifton. His could best be described as amorphous colored blobs that vaguely resembled animals. Thankfully they were color coded, purple, brown, and yellow. Only a few others, placed here and there, were done by staff. 

The man dug his dark blond brows downward when he spotted something odd about the pictures. He blinked his slate grey eyes and shook his head slightly before looking again. Instead of disappearing the pictures changed more. Gregor pulled his head back, confused by what he was seeing. Tentatively he reached a hand out and placed a finger on one of the waxy crayon drawings. It was a picture of Bonnie, his personal favorite, the one he’d drawn. He was holding his guitar with notes coming from his mouth. Honestly Gregor had put more effort into that one than he’d meant to. 

He swore that the area around the eyes were getting darker. Not just on Bonnie, but all of them. Gregor looked up at the other pictures, they were darkening. It was playing out in front of him with each passing second. Using his nail Gregor carefully scrapped a bit of the colored wax off. Underneath the dark purple was black. The Fazbear employee pulled his head back in surprise, that didn’t make any sense. 

Confused he looked to one of the others and scratched some of the crayon off of a Foxy picture. Again the same thing, black wax. Gregor moved onto another, but before he could try he pulled back. The Freddy in the picture had been awkwardly looking towards a child and now had its full attention on him. The eyes were messily colored black and staring forward at the man. 

Stepping back away from the wall Gregor saw all the colorful drawings were seemingly glaring at him. Dozens of small black eyes staring him down. He watched as the pictures began to darken and corrode before his eyes. The paper turning yellow, crumpling, and withering at the edges. The angry cartoons turned pitifully sad as they eroded away, pathetic sobs somehow coming from their deteriorating forms.

Gregor’s eyes darted around at all the decaying pictures, the cries were that of children. It sounded like they were in pain. Just barely he could make out their fading forms just barely shifting on the paper. They all seemed to be desperately trying to move to the top of their pages. Following their path upward Gregor noticed that the wall itself was changing. The paint was darkening, colors fading, peeling up in splintered, jagged, patterns. Signs of water and fire damage began appearing around the wall.

To the guard’s surprise sitting above the group of decaying drawings was the Puppet’s mask. The mask’s eyes were empty. Yet, Gregor got the feeling it was glaring down at him like the drawings had been before. 

From where he stood, Gregor watched as the drawings vainly tried to reach the mask as if it could protect them. The guard lowered his head as the crying, pleading to be saved, continued and vainly Gregor tried to block it out. He blinked as he felt something wet drip down on him. Looking up the guard saw that the ceiling was eroded and leaking. Large chunks of it were flayed out, exposing the soaking, corroded wood the water was seeping from. 

In the pit of his stomach Gregor could feel dread riding up inside of him. This dread spiked when he heard the echoing sound of metal feet smacking onto the now wet floor. 

“Springtrap…” Gregor said to himself. He looked back to the drawings, they were no longer moving, and the mask was missing. Gregor looked back to the end of the long, creaking, hallway where Springtrap was approaching from. Looking to the other end of the changing, decaying, hall he only saw darkness. Looking between the two Gregor realized there was nowhere else to go, all the rooms had vanished from the building. It was him, this hall, and an encroaching Springtrap.

Before he could decide to move Gregor felt something wrap around his arms. Six, pointed, nail-like fingers dug into his shoulders. A voice whispered into his ears, it was soft, a child’s…but, it lacked any mirth and held a cold burning cruelty. Gregor felt paralyzed, he could even inch his eyes downward to see the fingers holding him in place.

“Where are you going?” The Puppet questioned musingly. It’s soft, whispering voice echoing clearly in his ear, “Isn’t this what you wanted? You looked for him. You were happy to find him. Now he’s here, and you’re not happy?”

“I didn’t know…” Gregor managed back. It took a lot of effort but he managed to get his head to edge over to his shoulder. It was like he was fighting sleep paralysis! From the corner of his eyes he could make out the blurry vision of Puppet’s mask, but it looked splintered.

“No excuse.” It hissed, sharply enough that Gregor physically winced.

The water was dripping down from the ceiling faster now, to the point it was practically raining down on Gregor. The Puppet’s grip was unyielding despite being soaked and Gregor still couldn’t move. The water drops left long, straight, water marks on the pictures in front of him. It looked like all the empty eyed cartoonish drawings were crying.

Heavy splashing footsteps drew Gregor’s attention from the sad, tortured looking drawings. The smell of what Gregor could only liken to a wet dog carcass was filling the air. He could practically feel the Puppet’s wide smile stretch out behind him. Finally, Gregor was able to move, but only towards where the marionette wanted him to. 

Invisible strings guided him from the wall and through the ankle deep water. Gregor couldn’t even attempt to resist, his mental self-urging amounted to nothing. Marching towards him, sloshing steadily through water like it wasn’t even there, was Springtrap. The undead killer’s animatronic eyes were focused solely on him. Gregor made another vain effort to pull himself off his seemingly preset path, but his body disobeyed and steadily moved towards the deranged animatronic. 

“Don’t be afraid,” The Puppet comforted with ample venom, “you’ll only suffer like we are.”

The simple animatronic’s words felt like a tub of ice had just been dumped onto Gregor. An alligator-like hiss that came from Springtrap brought the man’s terrified attention back to the approaching tomb. The grinning, decaying, bunny opened its mouth, the water dripping from its maw caused it to look like it was salivating. The top piece of Springtrap’s head raised up further, just enough that Gregor saw a pair of white pinpricks leering at him. Springtrap’s head slumped over to the side with an open, grinning, hiss.

Against his own will Gregor continued forward towards the hybrid animatronic. He could see it in Springtrap’s eyes that it was eager to get ahold of him. The entombed killer reached out for him, and then everything stopped. 

A noise blared in the background, it sounded familiar yet not. Gregor mouthed “what?”, blinked, and then found himself sitting upright in his bed. In the back ground his cellphone’s ringtone was blaring at full volume. The man grumbled to himself that he’d had a bad dream and wiped his sweat coated forehead. It still felt like the water from in his dream was clinging coldly to him, and he could still feel the points where the Puppet had gripped him tightly. 

Still sleep drunk Gregor rubbed his face, trying to wake his senses. His ringtone stopped and moments later started up again. The sudden burst of loud sound was enough to snap him into the present. Grateful for the distraction from his nightmare replaying itself in his head Gregor snatched up the slim phone. Tapping the green answer button he spoke, “Hello, hello, this is Gregor Scott speaking.”

“Hey, this is Karen Santos.” An older female voice said over the phone.

“Karen Santos?” Gregor repeated, rubbing the bridge between his eyes as continued to try and shake of the feeling of his nightmare. The name sounded familiar, the woman sounded familiar as well. Focusing through the haze in his mind he found the reason why. The answer made him scrunch his brow in confusion. 

“You’re the janitor we hired.” Gregor answered, not bothering to hide his confusion. Why was she calling him?

“Yeah, that’s me.” She answered.

“Why are you calling me?” Gregor questioned as he stood up from his bed. Standing seemed to have woken him further as he quickly found an answer for his question, “Did something happen?”

“Uh-huh, I tried calling Herald but he wouldn’t pick up. Figured you were the second in command.” Karen explained calmly. Judging by her tone whatever was apparently urgent wasn’t so urgent. 

“I guess I would be.” Gregor answered, he was one of the new founding members of the pizzeria. Getting the feeling that he was going to be heading out soon, Gregor walked over to his closet as he continued to talk, “What happened?”

“You’re going to need to see this,” was all Karen said in reply.

Gregor Scott frowned, he didn’t like the sound of that. Regardless he opened his closet and pulled on one of his uniforms, “Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes or so.”

“I’ll meet you at the front desk.” Karen said before hanging up.

Fazbear’s head of security looked at his cellphone screen for a moment before putting it aside to get dressed. He had a bad feeling about what had happened at the pizzeria, but he had to take a look-it was his job. He had to ensure the pizzeria’s safety, he had to ensure the establishment kept going. That was Gregor’s job, and he was going to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felt like it was time to see what kind of nightmares are being had  
> I know that I said no talking from the animatronic's but it was a nightmare so, screw the rules lol


	13. Turn for the Worst (part2)

“What’s the problem?” Gregor asked promptly, as he met up with Karen at the front desk of the pizzeria. He glanced from side to side, nothing seemed off so far. 

The guard looked to Karen. She was an older woman, in her forties or so. It was clear she had led a rough street life; her demeanor was gruffer than the average woman. Most of her hair was a silver grey aside from a few black strips here and there. It was all pulled back into a mid-length ponytail. Her outfit was the typical blue janitorial attire, baggy water resistant clothing. She also wore some brown gloves that were tucked under her loose sleeves.

“Morning.” Karen responded, passively pointing out Gregor’s lack of greeting. She seemed faintly amused, her worn lips in a slight smirk. Turning Karen beckoned the guard to follow her with a flick of her wrists. Gregor neutral expression fell, feeling like something bad was lying around the corner. Silently he followed the janitor down the hall, as he did he noticed something speckling the floor. 

“Is that blood?” He questioned urgently seeing a thin, dotted, trail leaving from the prize corner and towards the main party room. 

“That’s not the worst of it.” The janitor replied coming up to her janitorial cart. Not looking back at Gregor’s shocked expression the woman followed the tail, pulling her equipment along with her. 

Unnerved by how the janitor was handling this, Gregor caught up to her and demanded an answer, “Karen, what do you mean?” He asked sternly.

When the janitor didn’t answer he grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to stand still and look to him. Faintly the older adult seemed surprised, but only briefly before she motioned to the parts and services room. Gregor slowly looked from the woman to the room. Soon after Gregor picked up on the strong tangy smell of iron. The guard felt a block of ice drop into the pit of his stomach. The rumored fate of guards that didn’t survive to six am came to the front of his mind.

Gregor gave one more look to Karen before leaving the janitor’s side to check inside the room. As he did the smell of blood only grew stronger. Carefully he pushed open the door to the mechanic’s work room, it had been left slightly ajar. Soon as the light from the hallway entered the room Gregor wish he hadn’t looked inside. Clifton’s work bench was caked in drying blood, the smell nearly overwhelming inside the room. The stuffed Freddy Fazbear suit was vermillion around the edges where most of the blood had seeped out and soaked through. On the ground lay a bloodied a security flashlight. Only further confirming that the poor soul within the suit was Cole Henderson.

Gregor shook his head, this couldn’t be happening…It could very well end everything! The guard felt a surge of panic go through him, no, no, he couldn’t let that happen! Immediately he whipped around and faced Karen, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders. The janitor’s eyes widened as the guard drew her in.

“You, can’t tell anyone about this!” He asserted, his face demanding but stricken with panic. A wild look had entered his grey eyes. It was that of a cornered animal. One that could easily lash out at random.

Once Karen composed herself she gently nudged Gregor’s hands off her shoulders, “That’s why I called you, and why I tried to get ahold of Herald for.” A small grin appeared on her lips, causing Gregor to give pause. “I think we can work something out. You catch my meaning?”

A look of understanding quickly came over Gregor’s face and he stepped back, as if to get a better look at the janitor. He glanced back to the grisly, dark, and bloody murder scene then to the conniving woman. Gregor frowned, he didn’t like what the janitor was alluding to. His nightmare, and the stuffed suit behind him, pressured the guard to turn the woman away, but something deeper rooted in Gregor urged him to accept.

“You want to be paid for your silence…?” Gregor assumed stiffly, feeling like he was being forced into a corner. One housing a dead body no less.

Karen nodded, grin remaining, “That’s right. I can do a good cover up job, make things look spotless before anyone arrives.”

Gregor eyed her, certain he was looking at a criminal, “Why do you know how to do that…?”

“I grew up around people who knew a thing or two.” Karen began, while tilting her head to the side. The woman pursed her lips a little, “Though getting the kid out of that suit is going to take plenty of time and effort. Gonna have to charge extra for that, but I can make it disappear.”

Gregor narrowed his eyes, “And how can I trust you to keep your end of the deal?”

“You get me the money I want and you have my word. This is the only job I got right now, I need the pay.” Karen answered evenly, her covered arms loosely crossed. The lady’s grin hooked upward, “So do we got a deal?”

“You’ll tell the police if I don’t agree, right?” The head of security guessed, frown grim. 

“To be honest even if I didn’t, somebody will notice a mess that big.” Karen pointed out matter-of-factly as she jabbed her thumb to the suit.

Gregor’s frown stiffened tightly, she had a point, but Karen had also admitted she’d squeal if he didn’t agree. The guard rolled his hands into fists as he felt the pressure building up inside him. He darted his eyes from left to right, feeling like he was being watched. Gregor ignored the sensation and came to his decision. He looked to Karen, “How much do you want?”

“Triple my pay and three-fifty for the body,” Karen responded promptly before cutting off the guard before he could respond, “Keep in mind, I gotta get’m outta that suit and it’s going to be a pain. Frankly, I’m being generous with the three-fifty. Besides, that’s how much my folks got paid.”

“Your folks?” Gregor questioned, curious about the sudden mention.

“Heh, my folks used to work for the past Freddy’s. Somebody had to clean up their messes ya’know.” Karen explained with a hint of unfitting pride. “I worked for Fazbear’s Fright, but you know-it burned down. Might not have realized it cause my Mom changed our names, and went back to her maiden name after Dad got killed on the job. Probably helped keep publicity off us after the last Freddy’s went down.”

A look of realization came over Gregor’s face when he processed what Karen had just told him. His voice went barely above a hushed whisper, “You knew this was going to happen?”

“I had a feeling.” Karen partly admitted with a slight shrug, “But I do know my folks got pretty paychecks when they worked for Fazbear’s. Think of it as me continuing the family tradition, job, or whatever.”

“Wait…” Gregor began, he appeared strangely hopeful about something, “You wouldn’t happen to recall what your parents knew about the animatronics, would you?”

“I don’t personally, but I do still have their old stuff. I remember that they each had a work notebook. When I was younger I got a peek at it. Had a bunch of stuff on how to handle the bots. Info on every animatronic, from Freddy to Balloon Boy.” Karen answered, knowing she was further getting the guard to agree. She gave her small grin again, “Might have more stuff, I haven’t looked thought the junk in a long while.”

Gregor’s face became even, his moment of panic over. Recomposed he gave his answer in a leveled manner, “Your price just became a lot more reasonable then. Get all the information you can from your parent’s belongings. I’ll see to it that you get your payment”

He gestured towards the brown crimson stained suit or more so the entire room itself. “Get that room cleaned up immediately.” Gregor wrinkled his nose in distaste, the smell of blood was becoming overwhelming. “I don’t care how, get rid of that body.”

“You got it, boss.” Karen answered, happy to have gotten what she wanted. Looking back to the bloody room; however, a thought came to mind. She looked back to the security guard, who was already walking away, and asked, “What about the technician? Sure he’s going to spot a whole suit missing.”

Gregor paused, halting before he turned out of the hall. Not looking over his shoulder Gregor gave his response, “Don’t worry about Schwartz. I’ll handle him.”

“Got it.” Karen repeated. Turning to her mop and bucket she pulled an industrial-sized black garbage bag out from the attached shelving. With a blink she recalled something and gave one last call out to Gregor, “Oh, and shut off the back camera.”

“Got it.” Gregor parroted as he continued down the hall. 

Leaving the janitor to do her thing Gregor headed to check out the state of the pizzeria. The animatronics were in their places thus far. Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were on stage. Their heads bowed, eyes half laden like they had just finished an encore and were tired. Standing at the front of the stage Gregor noticed the cupcake Carl had dried blood decorating his face. Though bewildered by the thought the guard made a mental note that the mini-bot could move on its own as well. The main three were mostly clean. Except a few spots on their hands and legs, but mostly their feet. Likely happened when they stuffed Cole into the suit.

Moving on Gregor went down to Pirate Cove. Pulling back the starry lavender colored curtain Gregor was greeted by an inactive Foxy. The red fox also had its head bowed, but it also seemed slumped over a bit. Its arms were hung at its side and shoulders were forward slightly. Gregor knew this was just how the animatronic rested so to speak. What caught his eye was the red on its hook.

Gregor wasn’t really surprised that the fox had been a part of Cole’s death. While looking into the supposed rumors the pirate captain had been mentioned a few times. Namely because it had supposedly been the one of the hardest to handle. Finished with his check of the cove Gregor pulled the curtain back and left.

Next he went over and checked on the Kid’s Cove, and on the stage stood Mangle. To Gregor’s shock Mangle had apparently stripped itself of a good deal of its suit parts. Petey the parrot, hung limply on its shoulder instead of being perched. Lifting up what he guessed was a forearm cover the guard peeked inside. It looked like all of the wires and cables were intact. Dropping the suit piece back onto the stage Gregor left the playroom behind him. Now he had another reason to talk to Clifton today. 

He only took one step into the prize corner and Gregor felt a noticeable change in temperature. There was a chilly nip in the air making the colorful corner seem not so welcoming. Balloon Boy was at his spot at the front of the alcove. Gregor hardly gave him a glance over and instead went over to the Puppet. The box of an oversized present was open, indicating Cole had failed to keep Puppet under lock and key. What Gregor saw inside both surprised and confused him. The marionette animatronic was curled up in a fetal position with a Fredbear doll clutched against its chest. 

As he looked at the black and white animatronic Gregor got the distinct feeling he was being watched. The head of security looked around, trying to pin point the source of the feeling. Then he recalled the boy from the other day mentioning “the boy behind the box”. Gregor snapped his attention back to the Puppet, now with a stiff look of defiance. The guard reached into the box and grabbed the animatronic by its thin neck. 

Gregor brought the marionette up to his face, growling at the gift giver, “You won’t get in the way. I will get you and your friends under control. I will keep this place open…You can’t stop me from doing that.”

The guard dropped the Puppet back into the box. The long limbed animatronic falling in a heap on top of the Fredbear doll. Gregor gave the animatronic a glare before stepping away from the present and said one last thing to the animatronic before leaving. “You should be happy giving other children good childhood memories…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gregor, your issues are showing...
> 
> I had the idea for Karen's character but so sort of wrote herself as I went into this. She quickly became more interesting to write for  
> than from what I had planned. This chapter will have one more part, it's already written out I just wanna try and build up my reserve more. I had the idea that the janitors had to know about what was going on, someone had to clean up that mess. Karen had an interesting childhood to say the least. Sight of a dead body does zilch to her.


	14. Turn for the Worst (part3)

With a rough huff Gregor sat himself down at his desk. For a while he just sat there, fingers irately dancing on the edge of the metal desk. Gregor already knew he was going to have to pull the three fifty from his own bank account. There went a good chunk of his savings. The problem was getting the rest of Karen’s pay increase. Herald was already shaky about the whole situation. How was he supposed to get the money from him?

Then it occurred to him that Herald had left him in charge with permission to use his computer. The computer that had everything on it and he knew the password to open it. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure it’d work, but it was worth a shot. At the very least he could use it to get a look at an overview of what they were making. Actually that was a better idea, he could siphon off money here and there to pay Karen. 

Before he left Gregor opened up a drawer on the bottom of the desk, the deepest of the three, and pulled out a pair of walkie-talkies. They’d come in recently and now he was going to give them purpose. Next with a press of a few buttons on the control panel the camera for the back was disabled.

Just as he was about to leave a thought came to him. Turning to the other side of the desk Gregor pulled his key ring from his pants loop. Unlocking the top drawer, Gregor pulled out the three applications Cathy had given him. Gregor grabbed the three applications, the walkie-talkies, and headed back to the mechanic’s room.

“You shut off the back camera?” Karen asked when he arrived at the room. She was still working on cleaning the blood off the stainless steel table. The rag was already covered in red and the bucket was gaining a noticeable tint of the color. On the ground leaning against the back of the table was a tied industrial garbage bag. The lack of a stuffed suit on top the table now told Gregor all he needed to know about the contents.

“It’s off.” Gregor confirmed before he handed one of the walkie-talkies to the woman. Getting a questioning look from the lady Gregor explained, “In case someone comes in early.” Karen nodded in understanding and he continued. “I’ll come in early from now on. If anyone comes through the front I’ll be able to stall them.”

“Got yah, and I have a question for you.” Karen began as she looked the guard over curiously.

“What?” Gregor asked in reply. 

“Why is this place so important to you?” Karen motioned to the room around them, almost looking amazed by what the guard was willing to hide. She barely held back a chuckle as she continued, shifting her weight onto the table, “Killer animatronics out front and a killer hidden in the back. You’re certifiably crazy for wanting to continue.”

“I’m not crazy.” Gregor snapped at the woman. Then he stopped at her mention, “How did you…how did you know about Springtrap?”

“Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t.” Karen responded as she held a hand up to dismiss the man’s offended tone. She then gave a knowing grin, “You hired me when you were still building the place. Overheard a big racket about spring locks going off when I came in one day. Next thing I knew the safe room was sealed up. Kind of assumed after that.” 

He gave her an irate judging look then thought back to his nightmare, and the real thing that was hidden away. Gregor honestly didn’t want his suspicion confirmed, but found the words coming from his mouth on their own. “Is Springtrap…active?”

The amusement nearly entirely fell from Karen’s face as she seemed to look back on memories. A knowing yet faded grin quirked at the end of her lips, “Oh yeah he is. Day he was dropped off he went active the same night. Got a poor kid called Brent Weeks that day.”

Gregor listened attentively as the crooked janitor continued, but felt the pit of his stomach freeze up at the thought. His nightmare playing over in his head with new vividness. The eyes, the rotting maw, and the Puppet’s whispers all seeming fresh and new in his mind.

“Don’t know how our night guard lived with the son of a bitch for about a week.” She looked to Gregor inquiringly, “You heard of him right? Isaac Vargas? Tough look’in little bastard.” When the guard nodded she continued while returning to her cleaning. “Every time I came in it looked like they had a fight or somethin. He might have won, so to speak, but Springtrap left him nice little forget me nots all over.”

The woman grunted irately as she continued cleaning up, “Had to pull the bastard out of a vent once. Pain in the ass with that kind of stench.”

Karen dumped the now red rag into a strong smelling cleaning solution and pulled out another from her pocket. “Boss didn’t seem to really mind all that much about the place burning. Probably felt good to be rid of Springtrap. Especially, if that really is who we both think it is.”

Gregor only mutely nodded in agreement to her statement.

“Heh, yeah.” Karen responded in affirmation while wiping the table top off. She turned back to her janitorial cart and dunked the rag into the water. Pulling it out she began wringing it, red dyed water pouring out from it.

She held a pause, eyes drifting off back to memories again. Her mind took her back to a year ago. To a building that was made to look more worn down than it actually was. The lighting was atmospherically dim and flickered on and off at random. The ceiling was falsely worn and torn, meaningless wires hanging down from it. Yet her hazel eyes ignored her surroundings, and instead focused on the yellow-green bunny animatronic in front of her. It was frozen in motion, posed like a rotting mannequin, appearing like it had been turning around the corner. The mouth was partly open, giving her a peek of what lay hidden inside. 

The sight didn’t bother as much as it would most. She recalled having seen her parents cleaning out suits for Fazbear Entertainment in her younger years. Instead she headed into the nearby staged office and began cleaning the disheveled mess inside. No blood, that was a good sign. As she worked the mop to and fro Karen found her eyes regularly glancing back to Springtrap. The animatronic’s unblinking eyes were focused on the office desk, but she felt they were on her instead. During her cleaning of the place she kept an eye and ear out for the animatronic. The thing never moved but it made the situation no less tense. That same day she found Brent Week’s body.

Karen learned that day just what her parents meant about the animatronics being creepy as sin.

Her voice turned distant and full of warning as she spoke to the guard again. “Let me tell you something. They may not move much during the day but their sure as hell watching you.”

The moment in the prize corner quickly came to Gregor’s mind. Distracted by the thought, he partly mumbled his reply, “So I’ve noticed…” The guard turned on his black shoed heels and headed back down the hall, “I’ll be in the manager’s office ensuring your payment. Use the walkie-talkie if you need me.”

“Good, good.” Karen chimed, pleased to hear that. Recalling her question went unanswered the janitor called out, “Hey, you didn’t answer my question.”

Old memories forced the nightmare out of Gregor’s mind, if only for the moment. The guard felt his chest tighten and he shoved them away. Just wanting to end the conversation, and get to what needed to do done, Gregor gave a vague answer. “This place is the only thing that matters.”

Karen uttered an interested hum and asked nothing further. She had a task she needed to complete in order to earn her under-the-table pay. Karen didn’t really question whether or not Gregor would keep his word. She could always tell the cops if need be. By now she’d likely get in some degree of trouble, but such information would reduce her sentence. Something she was fine with. She knew fully well what she was getting into. The feeling of the empty eyed masks watching her was expected. If anything it was mostly because she practically grew up around this. She’d heard about it from her parents, been to the other pizzerias, and seen the aftermath. All she wanted to do was get paid, and this type of work offered a very good paycheck.

It felt good when Gregor shut the office door behind him. No more unseen eyes staring him down. Taking a seat at Herald’s mostly unused desk Gregor turned on the computer tower. The connected screen came to life and showed him it needed a password. Gregor typed in the eight letter code and was allowed access. He pulled up a record of their income, and what money went where. They were doing good. Gregor knew he’d still needed to be careful about how much he pulled and when he pulled it. Hopefully with how apparently sleep deprived Herald was he wouldn’t notice. The man was rich, not like he needed his excess cash. 

After putting notes down in his cellphone about what he planned to do, which he’d delete later and write down somewhere safer, Gregor picked up the office phone. He had some new guards to hire. Eyes looking down at the one on the top, he spotted something interesting about the applicant. Briefly he looked back through the others, one had security detail experience, and the other had nothing of note. Gregor started with the one at the top and punched in the cellphone number. For a moment he sat waiting until the person picked up.

“Hello, hello, is this Leroy O’Conner?” Gregor started. “I’m Gregor Scott, head of security for Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Yes, I’m calling about your application. When is the soonest you can come in for an interview? Tomorrow? Excellent. What time? Sounds good, I’ll see you then.”


	15. During the Day (part1)

Clifton Schwartz had been sitting in the driver’s seat of his navy blue truck for a good few minutes now. Wearily he turned his head to his place of work. It was almost amazing how fast a place he used to look forward to working at had become the worst thing he knew of. He’d actually arrived a few minutes early for his shift, but was now running late. The mechanic and technician just didn’t want to go into that place. Not when he knew what lay within the place, a killer’s body and possibly ghosts of his victims. The latter thought pulled roughly on all of his heartstrings. His family needed him though, they were more important.

He smiled down at the lunch that had been packed for him by his wife with help from his daughter. Seeing another employee arrive and park prompted Clifton to grab his lunch and get out. The faster he got to work the faster he could lose track of time and get the day over with. Getting out of his truck he gave a customary greeting to one of the cooks before they headed inside.

Inside the smell of cleaning materials hung in the air, seemed the janitor was doing her deep clean of the week. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and dismissed the fact. The smell would dissipate into the background once the cook got cracking in the kitchen. Soon after entering Clifton checked into his shift and said his good-bye to the cook. The cook gave a well wish to his dual job and Clifton returned the favor.

As he headed down the back hall, towards the parts and services, he slowed his pace a little. He was beginning to pick up on a tune in the background. It wasn’t the Puppet’s or Freddy’s melodies, but it was similar to the pizzeria’s jingle. 

“Is someone whistling?” Clifton whispered quietly as he could to himself. Approaching his workplace, the man began getting a feeling that something was off. The air was unnaturally still, the casual whistling ringing very clearly yet seeming distant. Along with the whistling Clifton heard the sound of his tools being used. Noticing the door was left cracked open Clifton quietly peaked inside. To his surprise he saw no one and the whistling stopped.

Carefully Clifton pushed open the door and checked around the room. He felt like something was still in here with him. Yet he could see nothing, not even his tools looked disturbed. The only thing different was the smell of cleaning supplies in the air. Checking around the room he saw it was practically spotless. 

“That woman is thorough.” Clifton noted, then he stopped. There was something off about the room. Previously a corner that had been filled by a slumped over empty suit was now completely vacant. Clifton stared, bewildered by the disappearance. Where could a whole suit have gone? Had it just gotten up and walked away? Then again, with the way the pizzeria was at night it might have actually happened.

A knock at the door of the room brought Clifton’s attention away from the empty corner. Seeing Gregor at the door he frowned, not fond of seeing Herald’s right hand man. Clifton huffed dully, “you wouldn’t to know what happened to the suit I had prepared, would you?”

Gregor nodded, “That’s what I came to tell you. Don’t know why, but it was badly damaged when I came in this morning. I haven’t been able to get ahold of Cole for an explanation.”

“Probably had enough and left.” Clifton guessed bluntly before muttering, “Good move for the kid honestly.”

“Maybe.” Gregor answered, ignoring the fellow employee’s bitter after comment. He glanced around the room, “I’ll see about getting replacement parts. Another thing, we need you to fix Mangle. Parts of her suit have come off.”

“Sure thing.” Clifton said dismissively, only really paying half attention to what Gregor was saying. Further his dislike of the man just urged him to get the conversation over with as soon as possible. “And don’t bother. I have plenty stocked up.” Clifton dismissed. 

At the back of the room he opened up the suit storage room and pulled out a Freddy torso. As he placed the brown bear torso onto the metal table with a thud a thought occurred to him. 

“Gregor why did you get rid of the whole…” His voice drifted off when he saw the guard was gone. He rolled his eyes and finished what he was saying anyway, “thing.”

The German American shook his head and readied to start his work, it didn’t matter. Now he two jobs to do. First off he he’d have to go get Mangle, which meant he’d have to wheel the fox all the way over here. Mangle was the lightest animatronic they had, had to be for the little kids, but hoisting her all the way over to his workplace by hand would be tiring. Gregor had said parts of its suit came off so that meant he’d have to go back and get those after. 

The halls of the pizzeria were vacant of costumers for the time being. It wasn’t opening time just yet but it would be soon. For now, only employees were moving around, preparing the place for work hours. He could hear the cook, and what sounded like another, working in the kitchen. Passing by one of the party rooms he saw the janitor mopping and in the main party room there was a “wet floor” sign. 

Once he saw Mangle standing on the stage, stripped of its limb covers, and Petey being completely exposed, he scratched his head. What had caused this? Clifton shook his head he honestly didn’t know anymore. Freddy’s was a nightmare afterhours and he didn’t know what happened each night. He only had an idea of what went on, six hours of a poor night guard fending off killer animatronics. Still he had no clue why that would lead one of the animatronics to remove parts from itself.

Having no answer to that Clifton scooted the animatronic onto the dolly and wheeled it back to the repair room. He paused a moment before entering to listen for a sign of anything strange going on again. Hearing nothing he left the animatronic parked in the corner of the room. Mangle stood on the dolly, staring blankly head with its jaw partly hung open while Petey hung from its connecting point on Mangle’s shoulder. Clifton examined the robot to see if anything else was missing but spotted nothing. 

Again he left the room, this time with a spare cardboard box to hold the suit pieces. As he headed back to the spare room Clifton planned out his day. He’d start prepping the extra Freddy suit as it’d take longer. After thirty minutes he’d quickly get Mangle suited back up and wheel her out before the pizzeria opened. In no time Clifton was back in Kid’s Cove with a stage littered by empty shell pieces. One by one he picked up the faux furred suit parts, placed them into the box then headed back to his work room.

Clifton deposited the box of suit parts onto a shelf once he returned to parts and service’s. As planned Clifton set to work on prepping the Freddy suit. He picked out the tools he needed and pulled on a pair of thick gloves, which he needed to handle the beams and wires. Clifton grabbed a bunch of the thin but sharp beams, turned on some music, and set to work. He didn’t know how long he’d been working but a noise invaded his room again. Clifton stalled in his work, the whistling had returned. The same tune from before intermingled with the industrial metal his cellphone was playing.

Ignore it, keep working. Clifton told himself as he got his hands to resume what he was doing. Carefully he screwed in the beam into a connecting spot along the side of the suit. The whistling didn’t seem to mind being ignored and continued. Clifton felt his stomach tense up when he noticed the sound was moving around the room. At times it sounded right next to him, other times it was by the shelves. On occasion there was slight sounds of items being shifted around. Curiously the sound seemed to be doing its own thing.

At times, if he focused on the sound a little more, Clifton could hear shoes just below the whistling. Whenever the whistling was nearby the man had to fight himself not to freeze up. The presence of whoever or whatever that was in the room with him was not pleasant. It brought with it a bitter coldness and it seemed to dig right into him. 

Eventually the whistling faded away and the presence vanished along with the cold. Clifton let out a relieved but shaky exhale. The mechanic rubbed his arms, trying to further rid himself of the chill. As he did so Clifton looked around the room again, as if to check and see if the presence had really gone.

Feeling almost dazed Clifton headed over to a shelf and checked the time on his phone. His eyes widened when he noticed that it was almost time for the first show of the day. Clifton looked back to the Freddy suit he’d been working on and to his surprise saw he was almost done setting up the insides. With so little time to spare Clifton didn’t question what had happened. The man left in a hurry to get to the main stage’s control room, leaving the door behind him ajar. As he headed up the steps to the back stage he didn’t notice the door shutting behind him with a quiet click. 

From the backstage Clifton could hear that people were milling about the place. He looked out to the stage and saw the red curtains were closed so that the trio could be dramatically revealed to their awaiting fans. Clifton didn’t linger too long and ducked into the hidden room behind the animatronics.

Door shut behind him Clifton went about the necessary startup. Steadily the room came to life with a steady hum coming from the console. Looking at one of the monitors Clifton saw the people gathered in the party room. Clifton pressed down on a button to activate the intercom and spoke into the connecting mic. Outside the room the speaker gave a brief moan as it awoke. The sound was short lived but drew the attention of the adults, teens, and children present. 

“Welcome one and all to Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria! Where fun and fantasy come to life! We like to thank you all for coming today, and hope you enjoy our top notch pizza. In just ten minutes Freddy and his friends will begin their first show of the day! In the meantime, enjoy our food or have fun in the two play rooms and or our arcade. Thirty minutes after the show Captain Foxy will put on one of his own in Pirate Cove! Unfortunately, Fun Time Foxy won’t arrive until a little later today. See you all next time when the show is about to begin.”

His announcement over Clifton took his finger off the button and took the moment to try and relax. With a sigh he looked at the camera monitors in front of him, not much else to do now but wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone care to guess who was with Clifton in the parts and services room? Not hard to, lol.
> 
> Hope everyone had a good 24th regardless if you celebrate Christmas or not.
> 
> I have plenty of parts stocked up! So, regular updates for a while! :)


	16. During the Day (part2)

In the security office, Gregor hung up the phone. He’d just tried to call Herald Griffith for the third time just now and gotten no response. Tired of listening to the phone ring the guard decided to just give it up, for now at least. He’d wanted to call him to let him know about the three guards he’d just hired. Now he’d either have to wait then call again or Herald would call him. Right now he doubted the latter would happen.

Gregor picked up the control tablet and began flicking through the cameras, starting from the front and working his way back. He paused a moment when he came to the one stationed at the prize corner. Three kids were standing at the counter buying some of the prizes, dolls it seemed. It was honestly better to just buy the plushies, it took a lot of tickets to earn them and thereby a lot of tokens. Gregor watched as the guy manning the counter had Puppet rise from the present to hand out the gifts. 

With what Karen had said in mind, Gregor watched the Puppet carefully. He was not disappointed. The gift giver did its job perfectly. It grabbed and handed the gifts out as per instructed by the clerk via controls under the counter. The Puppet’s empty eyes; however, did not seem to be solely focused on the kids. Every chance it got the animatronic seemed to shoot a glare at the camera. They were quick but Gregor felt the cold burning eyeless glares directed at him. The words proven even more true, Gregor clicked away from that camera and resumed his check over of the pizzeria. 

Once satisfied Gregor set the tablet down. Business was going well and the children were having fun in this variable wonderland. So long as he kept the dark side of things under the rug everything would be fine. It was more the parents that he had to keep things covered for not the kids. The children were focused on having fun and enjoyed Freddy’s for what it was. They didn’t hold the cynicism that adults were burdened with. 

He envied them, they didn’t have to worry about much, just whether or not they had school, chores, or if they had to go to bed early. He especially envied the ones with good family lives. Blissfully they are often unaware of the world around them, but at least they enjoyed it. Least they could enjoy their childhood.

Gregor blinked himself back to the present and rubbed his brow, irate with his own day dreaming. He was supposed to be doing his job not letting his mind wonder. He checked the time on the clock, eight fifty-six. Only four minutes till the first show of the day. Gregor’s mouth twitched into a frown, he should have checked the time sooner. That’s what he got for letting his mind become unfocused.

He pulled his walkie-talkie from where he’d clipped it on his belt. Pressing down on the talk button Gregor spoke into the device, “Karen.”

There was brief static before the janitor picked up, “What?”

“Did you manage to clean Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica?” Gregor said, being as nondescript as possible to avoid those passing by overhearing. 

“Freddy and Bonnie were easy enough. Carl too since his material is less difficult to clean.” Karen answered between what seemed to be drinks. 

“And Chica?” He pressed, one hand gripping his chair’s arm in a vice.

“Relax.” Karen began dismissing the guard’s demanding tone, “I got most of it out. The chicken’s yellow really took to the color. Going to need to bring a stain remover to get the rest out. But, no one should notice unless they get right up to her.”

Gregor relaxed and the janitor continued after another drink, “I’m going to go take care of the garbage right now. Make sure no one breaks rule four while I’m gone.”

Uttering a groan of distaste Gregor responded, “I’ll be sure to…”

With that Karen ceased responding to go take care of the garbage, which she’d already had stowed away in her car. For believability sake she was going to toss the real trash as well, as she had told him prior. It was a relief to know that was being taken care of. With that off his mind Gregor returned to his job.

There was only two more minutes left before the show, so Gregor decided to do another check of the building. Once more he started from the bottom and worked his way up. As he did he came to the right hall and saw the rule poster posted on the wall. It was white with a golden trim, corners blocked off with a deeper, richer, gold. Behind the words was a happy cartoony looking Freddy with celebratory colors radiating and stars off him. The image was somewhat faded to avoid over powering the important rules.

**Rules for Safety  
** 1.Don’t run.  
2.Don’t yell.  
3.Don’t scream.  
4.Don’t poop on the floor.  
5.Stay close to Mom.  
6.Don’t touch the animatronics (except for Fun Time Foxy).  
7.Don’t hit.  
8.Leave before dark.  
Thank you,  
_Management_

With the pizzeria’s history the first three rules seemed far darker than they actually were. Also wasn’t screaming and yelling the same thing? The fifth and last rule almost made it seem like management knew more than it let on. How much did the past owners know? Hopefully the work notebooks Karen’s parents had would shed some light on things. Mostly he just wanted more info on the animatronic’s behavior. More he knew the easier he’d be able to get them under control at night. He wondered if she had any info on Springtrap, it was unlikely but he could ask her at least ask. 

Gregor blinked when he heard the sound of Freddy and his friend’s begin to play. With most of the costumers in the main party room right now the guard got up and headed to the crowd. Along the way he checked the rooms to make sure everything was alright. As he passed the prize corner he felt scathing and cold glares pointed towards him. 

He paid no mind as the Puppet’s gaze followed him. The smiling animatronic’s head slowly turning as he moved. The gift giver continued to glare in Gregor’s direction even when he went out of sight. From the small attached store room the clerk shuffled out, carrying a box full of prizes to be shelved. With a heave the hefty man dropped the open box onto the counter. The man blinked when he saw the puppet was out of its box. 

He scratched his head, muttering, “Didn’t I put you back?”

The clerk shrugged and pressed a button on the hidden controls. A whirring noise began as the machinery hidden in the ceiling got to work. Puppet was gently lowered into its box, the solid black crossbar that hung above it lowering with it. Once the simple animatronic was inside the present’s lid swung back over and closed. Only thing still left to be seen were the four black wires which attached to the animatronic’s limbs. 

“There we go.” The man said to himself before he began shelving the dolls. Looking at the highest shelf he noticed a Fredbear doll missing. Again he shrugged and simply restocked the doll. He sold so many dolls it was hard to keep track of what he’d sold. The Freddys, Toy Freddys, and Fredbears all blurred together after a while. 

In the darkness of the box, Puppet’s hand twitched just enough to lay two fingers on the side of the Fredbear doll he’d taken. Least his friend was here to comfort him throughout the day. He was always there for him. Even in his tormented last days.

 

Leroy O’Conner stepped through the front doors of the pizzeria and glanced about nervously. Leroy’s Irish Scottish descent showed proudly through his natural red hair and paler complexion. He tugged nervously on his blue sleeve jacket as his emerald green eyes looked around for the security guard Gregor. He’d been surprised to have gotten a call back but wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity. Work was hard to come by for him. He self-consciously rubbed his arm, but that was his own fault wasn’t it? Leroy owned up to it but nonetheless he had to live with his mistake.


	17. Mike Schmidt

“Thank you for coming today Mr. Schmidt.” Gregor Scott said, as he sat on the front of the desk, appearing at home in the manager’s office. He looked at the middle aged man in front of him. Mike Schmidt was a man in his late forties and certainly looked it. His face worn, mainly around the eyes which were sunken. His frown lines were as evident as the actual frown he wore. Mike didn’t seem too pleased to be where he was and sat quietly with a stewing expression. The man looked, as a whole, down trodden and worn from a long tiring life. His hair was a dark brown and bore greying streaks and looked barely brushed as further evidence of such a life.

“Yeah, well, can’t be late for the interview.” Mike answered with a noticeable tired dullness. The man looked like he just tossed on some moderately nice clothes that had been lying around. They were wrinkled and worn, but still above t-shirt and jeans.

“I noticed that you worked security before.” Gregor noted as he held Mike’s application in hand.

Mike nodded curtly and grunted, “Yeah, could say I’ve made it my life career. Can’t seem to sleep at night and don’t got much going on in the day. Fits my needs and all.”

“Mr. Schmidt,” Gregor began.

“Call me Mike.” Mike corrected passively.

“Mike, did you happen to work at the last Freddy Fazbear’s?” Gregor questioned, eying the older man before him carefully. When Mike stiffened at his question Gregor continued, “Before this place was constructed and we were still planning I had to do research, dig around, to find parts for the animatronics. While doing so your name came up.”

Mike appeared to be surprised to have been found out, but gradually it faded and instead he appeared almost amused about the turn out. The older man gave a gruff laugh, “That’s me alright. Kinda had a feeling I’d be found out.” He leaned back in his chair, eyeing Gregor carefully. “So, where do we go from here?”

“Safe to say you’re hired Mike.” Gregor began. The security head motioned over the animatronics, “I’m guessing you’re aware of how the animatronics…” He held a moment to search for the proper word. “Behave, at night. From what I’ve learned this isn’t a new development.”

The former guard stiffened again, gripping the chair’s arms in a choke hold with each hand. Mike eased up as he reminded himself that it was daytime, that were was no danger, and released the arms of the chair. He gave a shaky laugh and formed a wary grin. “I’m aware alright. Was hoping that glitch was fixed. So they still move around on their own, huh?”

“That’s right.” Gregor answered, as he continued his voice showed faint signs of wariness, “If feel I should point out that we have three more than the restaurant you worked for. Those being Puppet, Mangle and Balloon Boy.” 

Looking to Mike, he seemed to be mulling over his predicament. Gregor wasn’t completely sure what decision the former night guard would make. He hoped the guard would say yes, in spite of the new threats he’d face. Then he could use him to teach the newer guards how to handle the animatronics.

Mike held his face, mind carefully thinking over his situation. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy he could handle just fine. He’d only worked at Freddy’s for a week, but that week had forced him to learn the robot’s behaviors well. He also knew how to handle the…other Freddy, if it was still around. The idea of three new animatronics on the other hand did not sit well with him. However, he did have a reason for coming here.

After a long moment of thought Mike nodded, “I think I can handle three new bots. You have some info on how they work?”

The answer surprised Gregor even though it’d been the one he’d hoped for. Quickly he gathered himself and dispensed what information he had for the veteran night guard. “Balloon Boy seems to be harmless. Mangle crawls along the ceiling and prefers the vent but doesn’t seem to mind coming from the right office door. Puppet is the most dangerous of the lot, but is kept contained by winding a music box.” Gregor listed off as Mike listened attentively.

“We’ll be getting more information on the animatronics soon. I’ll update you if we find out anything.” Gregor added as he wrapped up what he had to say. Mike gave him a curt nod of understanding. Putting aside the application Gregor decided to end the interview, “When can you start?”

“Tonight.” Mike answered to Gregor’s further surprise. The rehired guard crossed his arms, “I know it’s Friday, and I figure you got some newbie guard going in tonight. Friday and the weekends are utter hell. Let me show the kid how it’s done.”

Having thought of the idea already Gregor wasn’t one to object. “Alright. Your coworker’s name is Kyle Hudson. She knows how to work with the three new to you. She should be able to fill you in on them more.”

“Right.” Mike said as he got up from the chair, “Don’t worry about uniform. I still have mine and I see you’re still using the same one. All I need is the key.”

“I believe I have a few spares left.” Gregor answered. The head guard got up from the mahogany desk, went over to one of the locked drawers, unlocked it, and pulled out a new shiny key from inside. Once the key was in Mike’s hands the man pocketed it and headed for the door.

“See you later.” Mike said simply before exiting the room. He heard no farewell from the current security head. It was odd having someone less experienced as his supervisor, but Mike paid no real mind to it. Least he knew what was going on a fact which wasn’t a good sign but worked in Mike’s favor.

The guard looked around as he walked through the building. It looked much nicer than the Freddy’s he had worked at. The ceiling wasn’t falling apart for one. It didn’t smell of decay and there wasn’t garbage littering the floor. He stalled as he came across the main trio of the five he’d dealt. His breath hitched as images of his horrid week flashed before his eyes. Glaring lifeless eyes, rows of teeth, choked breaths, and piercing shrieks.

Mike felt a prickling pain dance up his arms as he forced himself from the room. The farther he got away from the main trio the better he felt. It was going to be difficult to face them tonight, but it was something he had to do.

The hall had people milling about but few gave the older man much thought, aside from some paranoid glances. As he came up to the prize corner Mike stopped and looked into the alcove. Might as well acquaint himself with the new terrors he’d be going up against. Balloon Boy looked positively tame in comparison to the other animatronics. Puppet on the other hand, he felt like the thing was watching him. A little too closely at that. Mike’s frown deepened by a margin, he could tell he was going to have to keep an eye on this one. What had Gregor said about it? A music box kept it under control? He’d have to check in with the other guard about that.

With only one other animatronic left to meet Mike looked around for Kid’s Cove, and of course it was basically across from Pirate’s Cove. Mike winced as he recalled going past the red fox animatronic on his way in. Of all time for him to have arrived the damn thing had to be putting on its show. Being control by someone in a hidden room or not, just seeing the vicious thing dancing around while it told pirate tales made his old scar act up like crazy. Mike felt the scar on his shoulder bristle with invisible needles just thinking about it.

That’d been a tough wound to handle on his own, but could he have told doctors? A crazed, murderous, possessed, animatronic pirate fox had hooked his shoulder and had tried to drag him away to be stuffed in a bear suit? Yeah, that would have gone over well. 

Mike took a deep breath and shoved the thought of the red fox far as he could into the back of his head. Unfortunately for him he soon found out that Mangle was another fox. The guard frowned deeply and cursed to himself, “Of course it’s another fox…great, just great.”

He quirked a brow upward as he looked Mangle over, who, oddly wasn’t mangled. If anything it just looked like a white and pink version of Foxy, with a lime green parrot. The fox looked substantially less threatening than Foxy was. It had cheery pink cheeks and lips. Its voice was almost mothering as it told tales of friendship and whatnot to the toddlers. Mike was bored of the story by the third sentence Mangle uttered.

With the parents around and him lacking any child Mike left Kid’s Cove. As much as he wanted to write Balloon Boy and Mangle (he needed to ask why it was called that) off as no threat, he knew better. He severely doubted any animatronic in this damned place was remotely harmless. Particularly considering Mangle could, somehow, apparently, walk on the ceiling.

Exiting through the front doors Mike pulled a cigarette out of a pack in his pocket. Before he first worked for Freddy’s this was something he’d never thought he’d do. Smoking was bad for you, everyone knew that. After going through hell featuring animatronics for a week, Mike had given into it to calm his ever worn nerves. Heck, he even drank now. At eighteen he loathed alcohol, his father having been a drunk. Drunk as the man had been, he’d still managed to raise him. Still, Mike had hated drinking on principle and yet he had a fridge stocked with it.

Mike exhaled a cloud of smoke as he walked to his car and got in. Window down he sat there trying to calm his jittering self. Working for Freddy’s for only a week had left him so changed. Mike was sure that his younger self wouldn’t believe he’d become the way he was now. In a week he’d gone from an average young adult who enjoyed hanging out with friends and his girlfriend to a troubled isolated man with a pair of vices he never wanted, but needed to cling to in order to stay calm.

“It’s going to be a long night…” Mike muttered to himself as he pulled out of the pizzeria’s parking lot. Hopefully the guard he was paired with wasn’t a shaking like a leaf soon as she came in. That would not be good for his nerves. Until then, time to fish out one of his old uniforms from the closet and try to sleep.

 

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Jessica Myer, Kyle’s girlfriend, questioned. Kyle was currently at the couch, sitting with her laptop on her lap. She dipped a brow noticing the intense look of focus etched in her expression. Jessica eyed her a moment before continuing, “You have a shift tonight you know.”

“I do, I do. I just want to look up more about what happened at Freddy’s.” Kyle answered as she clicked through a website devoted to information on the troubled pizzeria franchise. The website had a dark back ground with mascots, from all iterations decorating the border. The header was of course Freddy himself. The image seemed to have been made from a 3D model. The bear was in shadows, just peeking over the border. Kyle huffed and put down the mouse, “It’s hard to find anything concrete on this place…well, when involving the incidents anyway.”

Jessica nodded and sat down before offer Kyle mug of a coffee. Kyle blinked in surprise before taking the red mug and giving her thanks. Jessica appeared a little amused, “Made you that because knowing you, you won’t be going to sleep now.”

“You know me so well.” Kyle cooed in reply before taking a long drink of the caffeine rich drink. She shrugged, “I got plenty of sleep anyway, I can handle a six-hour shift.”

“I know. I’m just watching out for you.” Jessica said sweetly, getting a smile from her girlfriend. Her expression sobered suddenly, drawing concerned attention from Kyle. Jessica looked off towards the windows of their small home. Holding her own cup of mocha coffee, she sat it on her lap. She frowned sadly, “My parents moved out of the town because of what happened.”

“Was one of the kids…?” Kyle began, but she never got finish when Jessica cut in.

“No,” She said briskly. Jessica gave a faintly amused laugh, “I wouldn’t have let you work at that place if I was.” Her amusement died quickly and she looked into the rich dark liquid sitting in her mug. “But my parents talked about it now and then. I’d listen in at times when they thought I wasn’t.”

Kyle nodded and Jessica continued, “I hadn’t been born yet, but at the time they just couldn’t think of having a family in Hurricane with what was going on. It wasn’t just what was happening at Freddy’s. There was someone going around killing outside of the pizzeria.”

“Around the time of the disappearances?” Kyle questioned, a look of muted horror on her face.

“Around that time, I think.” Jessica answered with a curt nod. She took a drink of her coffee and continued, “I don’t know much obviously. I never really wanted to know more about it…” She thought back to the unsettled expression of her parents when they’d talk about Freddy Fazbear’s past. “It was horrible to think about it with what I’d heard. I just wasn’t keen on getting details.”

“Can’t blame you…” Kyle said, a look of sympathy on her face as she turned her attention back to the site. With what she’d read and the vagueness of what was known and the possibilities of what’d happened to the kids…it left her stomach sour. She took a drink of her coffee, savoring the chocolate flavor and letting it wash away the distaste she was feeling. With a sigh she set it down on the side table next to her, “I just wish more facts were known, but that is why it’s unsolved.”

“Sadly yeah…” Jessica agreed solemnly. She turned her brown eyes towards the TV and when she did found a way to lighten the mood. She perked up and got up from the couch. Kyle watched curiously as she went over to their dvd collection. Briefly Jessica perused the movies before pulling one out and showed Kyle. Jessica grinned mischievously, “How about a cheesy and bad romantic comedy to lighten the mood?”

Her plan was already successful as Kyle gave a snort of a laugh, “Oh god,” She closed her laptop and placed it on their coffee table, “Sure why not. I think I’m done with pizzeria tragedies for the moment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was fun to write for Mike, I hope you enjoy my interpretation.
> 
> Smoking and drinking seem to be a theme for my guards, least the three major ones anyway.
> 
> I've built up quite a lot of parts, so I should update every five days.


	18. Night Five (part1)

“What the hell?” Uttered Kyle in confusion as she stared out her car door window. The blunt question was directed at an older car that she’d spotted while driving into the parking lot of Freddy’s. Upon getting out of her car she found herself still stumped by its presence. Kyle looked from the car to the building it was parked right in front of. She frowned skeptically, “Why would anyone else be at this place tonight?”

She shook her head and tossed her security hat onto the passenger seat of her car. After her first night she could care less about dress code. She wasn’t a big fan of hats anyway, or the company for that manner.

To her slight surprise Kyle found the front doors of the pizzeria were unlocked. With some caution she entered the building, her mind still mulling over why anyone else would be around. From the halls Kyle saw a light coming from the security room’s open doors. This left her mouth hanging open. They couldn’t have actually hired another. But to her dismay however there was another person sitting in the security office. Had Kyle taken a moment to glance him over she might’ve spotted the older dingy looking uniform, or the fact he seemed to have been expecting her. Kyle; however, was quickly taken over by concern for an unknowing person being put in danger.

“I don’t know who you are,” Kyle began immediately, “but you need to-”

“Relax.” Mike interrupted dully, wanting to cut off the new guard’s franticness before it could really get off the ground. The unexpected, but blunt, assurance caught Kyle off guard enough that she came to a halt. With a tilt of his head Mike got a look at the time on the control tablet, of which he’d gotten himself acquainted with before Kyle arrived. “We have ten minutes to get to know each other before the animatronics start moving.”

He pointed to a scuffed name tag over his uniform’s pocket, “Name’s Mike Schmidt by the way.”

“Kyle Hudson,” Kyle responded in turn as she slowly entered the room. Even still she couldn’t believe he was there. The fact that he was aware of how the animatronics were made it even stranger. Yet he was still here despite the fact. Kyle shook her head, clearing some of the confusion from her mind. Somewhat settled she then asks, “Okay, so how do you know about the animatronics?”

“Simple. I worked at the last real Freddy’s.” Mike answered. When he saw the look of shock come over Kyle’s face Mike knew the questions were coming. Inside he sighed and readied himself for them.

“You worked at one of these places before? And you came back?” Kyle questioned incredulously. It was unbelievable to her that anyone would willingly subject themselves to this job again. Calling this man mad would be putting it gently. Then again, she’d come back after day one. That had to say something about her sanity.

“Yeah, there were only four animatronics at my place though Freddy, Chica, Bonnie and Foxy. The main crew.” Mike said as he pressed the main stage camera. No movement from the cast yet as expected. The three bulky animals just unblinkingly stared out at nothing like they had at old restaurant. Mike glanced at Kyle as he addressed her second question, “To keep other guards from getting killed.” 

The female guard thinned her lips in thought, something about his last answer seemed incomplete. Having no reason to question it however, Kyle sat in the second chair that had been provided. The chair was just one of the table chairs that were plentiful in the pizzeria. It wasn’t nearly as easy to move as the rolling chair. It probably wouldn’t be as comfortable in the long term either. Those thoughts weren’t on her mind though Kyle was more interested in her new coworker. She eyed him and he waited for her to do something with a worn neutral expression. Kyle thought to his answer, she still felt it was only half given but she could relate to it.

“Same reason I haven’t quit yet.” Kyle said almost wistfully. “Need the money too.” She added with a half attempted laugh. 

“Same here.” Mike stated as he continually flipped through the cameras to get himself familiarized with the layout. It was different from his, but some of the decorative choices where similar. Foxy’s stage seemed the same, if not a bit bigger. The confetti design on the walls had remained but done in lighter shades. The eighties reminiscent checker board style wall boarders and floor were back once again. Also making a return were the star streamers and children’s drawings.

“So, you were around when…” As Kyle’s voice trailed off Mike slide his blue eyes over to her. The woman seemed to be having trouble finding the right wording. Mike knew what she was going to say and wanted her to spit it out already. They only had five minutes left.

“…the killings were going on.” The younger guard managed, feeling a tad embarrassed about dragging on for as long as she had. 

“I was.” A curt nod and Mike leaned back in the rolling office chair. His eyes stayed the camera screen, least the clarity was nicer. He wondered how long that would last once the animatronics got moving, not long he figured. Mike gave a steady sigh as he thought back to that time. “To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I knew about it sure but, I was young and had the “that won’t happen to me” way of thinking. Karma bit me hard when I signed up for a job with robots that wanted to bite my face off.”

“Do you have any idea who it might’ve been?” Kyle asked, she didn’t expect Mike to have an answer but it was worth asking anyway. 

The older guard shook his head and gave a grunt before beginning, “No, but there were plenty of suspects. Might’ve heard some people thought there were two different killers, some even think they worked together. Plenty thought it was a guard. My supervisor at the time, Bernie, was a major suspect. He...”

Mike suddenly found himself struggling to say the words. His body seized up, refusing to allow himself to even mention that moment. Before Kyle could ask what was wrong he moved on, “There was also the owner, Jones. Real hard to read kind of guy.”

“Then there was…” Mike had a feeling of discomfort come over him as he thought back to when he went for his interview. He entered a small room that cleaner than the rest of the building. The back of the room was where all the furniture was, the desk, chair, and filing cabinets. The front of the room sported only a couple of chairs. Young eighteen-year-old Mike looked towards the manager, Jones, then over to the other presence in the room. 

Standing by a filing cabinet was a guard, face shadowed by the bill of his security hat. The only clear features were messy black hair jutting out from under his cap and down to his shirt’s high collar, shoddy facial hair, and what looked to be a cleft chin. Soon as the guy noticed his gaze young Mike looked away, feeling suddenly intimidated.

“This other guard. Real tall,” Mike held his hand up above his head for a moment to show Kyle. He thought back for a better example to give her. “Tall as the animatronics if I recall correct. I only saw him once when I got hired and when I went to get my paycheck. Quit right after. Never said nothing, but he’d been around long enough to be the killer from what I was told.”

“Everybody at the place was suspect, even the janitor.” Mike explained, wrapping up his answer as he clicked back to the main camera. In a minute it’d be twelve am. He spoke again before Kyle could speak, “It’s almost midnight. Tell me what you know about Mangle, BB, and Puppet.”

“BB?” Kyle echoed, just before she realized who he was talking about, “Oh! Well, he hasn’t done anything. Went into the vent once, but the Freddy head worked to get him to leave. Mangle moves along the ceiling. When it got close it started making this noise like radio static. Seemed to draw-” 

Her words stalled when she heard a lot of animatronics moving around. Sounds of heavy, yet padded, feet shuffling around from seemingly all around them. The feeling of being surrounded pressed down on the new guard and she froze. Mike noticed this and quickly said, “Keep going. I’ll tell you if you need to shut the door.”

Kyle snapped from her stupor and looked unsure but an enforcing look from Mike got her to continue, “The noise seemed to make the others move faster.”

“Sounds right. Their drawn to noise.” Mike affirmed, beginning his routine. Back and forth Mike checked on Foxy and Freddy, keeping both in their place. Recalling the last new one he switched over to the prize corner. There he noticed the “wind the music box” button.

“What about the puppet thing?” Mike asked. He pressed down on the button and watched as the circle next to it became whole again, a clunking winding noise accompanying it.

“Don’t know. Never let it out.” Kyle answered with a shrug.

Mike had hoped to get more info on the pierrot looking animatronic, but at least he knew his shift partner was diligent on that aspect. A familiar ringing drew the veteran guard’s attention to the desk phone. If it hadn’t been the signal that the nightmare was more officially beginning, he might have felt some nostalgia. All the same Mike pressed the play button, not wanting the ringing to further encourage the animatronics to head down to them. 

“Hello, hello,” Gregor began as per usual.

“Huh, yours does that too.” Mike noted with slight surprise.

“Does what?” Kyle questioned.

“Nothing.” Mike answered, finding the similar quirk between his “phone guy” and Gregor not important enough to share.

“Hope you two are getting along well enough. I’ve recently found a source of information that’ll hopefully be coming in soon. I’ll keep you updated when I get the new information in. Fill each other in on what you know about the animatronics. Also, Mike is in charge. That’s it for now.”


	19. Night Five (part2)

The message done, Mike devoted full attention back to the control panel and checked on Foxy and Freddy. He restrained a shudder when he saw the fox had pulled back the lavender curtain. Its fangs shined gleefully in the dim lighting as it looked to grin at the camera. The pirate fox captain was eager to begin tonight; did it know he was there? Mike shoved the thought away and checked the main stage, Freddy was no better as it stared down the camera while it swung slowly back and forth. Mike felt his arm shaking at the sight of the bear’s darkened glowing eyes, they brought up bad memories of his last few nights.

He clicked back over to the prize corner and wound the box up again. As he did he noted how fast the thing had unwound. Puppet was certainly going to be a priority. As the circle became whole again Mike addressed his partner, “Freddy won’t move from the stage if you check on him regularly.”

“Not complaining, but why?” Kyle questioned. That was an odd thing to keep the leader of the animatronics at bay.

“Maybe he likes the attention. Who cares, it works.” Mike answered dryly as he lowered the panel and listened. There was a moment of hollow silence and then faint shifting of big, padded feet shuffling along linoleum tiled floor. Didn’t sound like anything was nearby, although, as he recalled from his previous nights, the robots liked to wander a bit before going at him. It being Friday though, it wouldn’t last long. If they were lucky, which was unlikely, they’d get a free hour before their torment began. 

“You can seal the vent if there’s something in it.” Kyle stated when Mike resumed his routine. She pointed to the toggle map button on the side of the screen and elaborated, “Just press that then double tap the camera button if somethings inside.” Kyle held her thought, having not used it she wondered something and spoke her thought aloud, “I guess it takes up power like the doors though.” 

Mike looked at the button but didn’t test it. It was Friday, not time to mess around. He was certain he’d hear something big and bulky like an animatronic moving through the vent. They could hardly move quietly outside of a vent. Move quietly in a vent? No chance. Hearing footsteps thudding down the halls he quickly checked the two corresponding cameras. He took note of what he saw and put the tablet down.

“Bonnie is heading down the left hall, Chica and BB are on the right.” Mike reported to the other guard. The animatronics were determined tonight, already ganging up on them. Mike was no stranger to their double team tactic. They’d stand outside the doors for some amount of time, trying to wear the power out.

“Okay, so, am I manning the right door?” Kyle questioned while she carefully looked out the darkened hallway. She didn’t exactly want to man either of the doors, but there was no choice in the matter. Kyle figured since she was the one sitting next to the right door, that obviously meant she’d be the one manning it.

Mike was about to answer when his scar protested, pinprick needles of pain bristling in his shoulder’s joint. He restrained a reflexive grab at it and instead moved over to where Kyle was sitting, control tablet in hand. The younger guard gave him a confused raise of her brow. He motioned for her to take his seat with his free hand. Kyle gave him a look but followed his instruction leading the two to swap seats. 

“There seems to be less traffic on that side,” Mike clarified, trying to explain away his sudden decision. He didn’t need her thinking there was something wrong with him, not now. Mike could handle this; he’d handled it before he could do it again. He’d get over this little issue. He just had to face what was causing said issue. Mike checked on Foxy again and continued, “I’ll let you know if Foxy charges. Should hear it anyway though. Just stay alert.”

“Right.” Kyle said slowly as she eyed the other guard, analyzing the details of his face. Her suspicion was interrupted as both of them heard the thudding of animatronic feet. Kyle watched as a toothed beak came into view, then glowing, violet pupiled eyes, and a feather tufted head. Kyle carefully pointed up to the chicken and urgently whispered, “Mike.”

On old instinct Mike flung his arm out and hit the door button, slamming the door on the chicken robot’s face. Turning himself he faced the window, behind the Plexiglas Mike saw the familiar face of Chica the chicken. The animatronic noticed the movement and returned his gaze, looking at him with those fake, round eyes. It stared at him for a long while, something turning in its gear and wire filled mind.

Slam! Both guards jumped when, without warning, Chica struck the dense window with a bulky fist. The glass shuddered at the action but held fast. Both night guards stared in stunned fear as the animatronic gave the glass two more hits. Thankfully, the glass didn’t shatter and they remained safe. Chica’s head shuddered twitching unnaturally back and forth with each passing second, jaw opening and closing with no reason. With a heavy thud the yellow hand smacked flat against the glass. Jittering, twitching fingers dug into the glass while it held its eyes fixed right on Mike’s.

The animatronic’s eyes closed once and when they reopened there was nothing but darkness. Empty sockets staring at the veteran guard with clear hate. Mike stared back at the animatronic, jaw slacked in disbelief, was it possible that Chica recognized him after all these years? It was the only explanation he had for this behavior. He’d never had an animatronic react like this during his week. 

“I think it recognizes you...” Kyle said, speaking his thoughts out loud, but softly as to avoid further setting off the animatronic. 

“Great.” Mike managed rigidly as he pressed down on the light button a few times. The light flickered on and off. The animatronic’s plastic eyes seemed to roll up from the empty sockets and it ceased shaking altogether. The animatronic turned about face and lumbered back down the hall, seemingly having forgotten all about the familiar guard. Mike breathed in and out, forcing himself to ignore his shaking hands.

“Hello!” Pipped a voice.

Mike flinched at the sudden childish voice and looked around for the source of it. “What the hell?”

“I think that was Balloon Boy.” Kyle guessed, didn’t sound like the voice would fit any of the other robots.

The older guard glanced back to the window, now realizing that the animatronic was too short be seen through it. Mike didn’t like that fact. Balloon Boy moved rather silently for an animatronic as well, another thought he didn’t like. The man huffed, sitting back in his chair, “Well, he’s staying out there. I’m not risking anything.”

“Fine by me.” Kyle said in agreement. Hearing a thudding she turned her head and saw Bonnie was making his first appearance of the night. Quick as possible Kyle shut the door on the electric guitarist. Who, as he had on her first night, was content to stare at the door and wait for their power to drain out.

“Now that we have a moment,” Kyle began, letting out a shaky breath. Once it was out, she voiced a thought that had been pressing at her since Chica showed up, “any idea why their like this? A “glitch” in programming making them wander at night. Fine I’ll take that. But acting possessed with the freaky empty eye stare and choking noises?” She motioned sharply over to where Chica had been standing, “I need an explanation for that!”

“Now isn’t the time.” Mike said with stern authority, pushing his lead role for the first time. Kyle appropriately stopped herself and seemed to settle some, realizing that he was right. His partner put back in line, Mike checked back with Foxy. The Fox had gotten down from its stage and was looking at the camera out of the corner of it eye. Mike frowned at the development but spoke with Kyle again, “We get out of this, and I’ll explain. Better have an open mind about it.”

Kyle hit the lights on Bonnie, urging the guitarist to leave. The LED light wiped away the animosity in Bonnie’s eyes, leaving a glazed emptiness as the bunny thudded away with its heavy feet. Kyle fell back in her seat, this night was already wearing on her and it hadn’t even been an hour yet. It was only her second night on the job, but Kyle knew this one was already going to be worse.

Despite normally being healthily skeptical to the strange and unusual, Kyle easily let herself say, “I think I can at this point.”

“Good.” Mike responded, eyes trained on the camera screen. At that the conversation was wordlessly declared finished, any questions would be answered after dawn. 

The guards were left in the partial quiet of the shadow filled pizzeria. Only the sound of the animatronics moving, constant whirring of the fan, and each other’s occasional shifting filled the air. The mix of noise was occasionally changed up by Mike flipping back and forth between the prize corner, pirate cove, and the main stage. The less he saw of Freddy and Foxy the longer Mike was sure his life would continue on. He didn’t know about the Puppet, but if it required its own method to be contained Mike was willing to incorporate it into his routine. 

Kyle watched Mike quietly, trying to pick up on the veteran guard’s methods. From what she could tell he was focusing on Freddy, Foxy, and the Puppet. Every so often when he heard a sound Mike would stop and listen. If it was deemed to be nothing he went back to the panel, if not he’d check the window. Only a few times did he use the tablet check on the sound. Kyle would admit she was silently impressed by how methodical Mike was about the situation. At the same time, she noticed the shaking in his arms. It wasn’t overtly noticeably but with his arms in clear view Kyle could see the small tremors.

It looked like he was restraining himself from breaking down. Kyle turned her face back to the dark left window, she didn’t want him to see any of the concern on her face. Kyle had a feeling that he’d find it insulting, and like he said now wasn’t the time. They had animatronics to deal with, there was no time to try and sort out personal issues.

The hall beyond the window was so dark it was almost hard to make out the pictures on the wall, or the wall itself. It made the security office almost feel isolated, like an island amongst a dark hostile land. The sole safe place, and she knew that even here they weren’t completely safe. All because of the owner being cheap on power.

Now that she thought about it, Kyle realized she’d never even met the owner. In fact, what was even his name? Whenever she thought about the owner Gregor’s face and name came up instead. Kyle glanced to Mike who’d set the tablet down for a moment to conserve power. Kyle wanted to ask him but left it as another question for later.

Kyle straightened when she heard the thudding footsteps of encroaching animatronics. Followed by a series of echoing and foreboding clanks from within the vent. She looked around as her heart started to pick up its pace. The movement in the vent stopped and started up again after only a moment’s pause. From the other side of the closed right door Balloon Boy’s unfittingly cheery laughter sounded. The little animatronic sounded like it was mocking them while just out of sight.

If he was in fact harmless, his friends certainly weren’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, the animatronics recognize Mike.


	20. Night Five (part3)

“We’ve got some company coming.” Mike said quickly, tone stiff and rough, as he readied himself as much as he could mentally.

“They’re certainly active tonight…” Kyle commented cautiously while eying the dark vent sitting above their desk. She half expected Mangle to jump right out of the vent and maul them both. The thought didn’t help herself, but she couldn’t stop herself from thinking it.

“This isn’t even them at their worst.” The older guard stated as he switched to the vent cam. He visibly recoiled at the sight of the Mangle, seemingly grinning gleefully from the camera view. What caught him off guard was the fact the animatronic had a second head staring at him from its shoulder. He guessed that was the parrot without its suit pieces on.

Still doesn’t really explain why it’s called the Mangle…Mike thought to himself as he double tapped the vent cam. With a metallic thunk Mike could only guess the vent was blocked off as the camera view didn’t show it. Hearing a warbled and almost jumbled noised from his right Mike glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough Chica had returned. Balloon Boy’s laughter started up again and Mike scowled at the jeering noise.

“Shut the hell up and leave.” Mike spat as he clicked the door light button. Hearing the sound of the other door shut Mike looked over to the left. Kyle had shut the door on Bonnie once again and was clicking second button. The hall light lingered briefly before vanishing, allowing the darkness to regroup. Crackling of static coming from the tablet redrew Mike’s attention to the slim device. A series of echoed bangs trailing back into the distance informed him that Mangle had indeed left the vent.

Mike disengaged the vent seal and checked their power, eighty-four percent and it was one ten am. They were doing alright. He figured he should try and ease up on the cameras a bit to try and conserve before things got anymore hectic. Unfortunately, with the trio of Foxy, Freddy, and Puppet that was going to be a hard to do. Least winding the music box didn’t drain power.

After a glance at the window Mike saw Chica was gone. Out of habit Mike almost automatically hit the door button. He stopped halfway, hesitating as he recalled Balloon Boy had been lurking outside. Behind him he heard the left door slide open with a thunk. He looked back to Kyle whom lifted her head, waiting for him to say something. Mike pointed to the door, “I’m gonna open this, just keep watch. Not letting my guard down, even if it is a pint-sized bot.”

Kyle nodded soldierly and got up from her chair, pulling her black industrial flashlight from her pocket. She nodded forward, indicating for him to go ahead. “I got your back.”

Mike grabbed his own flash light, which bore scuffs along the sides of the head, and readied to open the door. With a press of the red door button, Mike flicked on his flashlight on as the metal door rose up. Before stepping out, the veteran guard let the beam illuminate the hall that was just beyond the door. Nothing but tilted floor and a heavily decorated wall. Mike edged one leg out into the hall as he peered around the doorway and aimed the light down the hall. 

“It’s clear.” Mike reported upon seeing a thankfully vacant hall. He arched a brow when he heard a disgruntled groan from Kyle.

“It’s hardly past one.” She muttered anxiously, on hand holding her forehead while her other hand held her cellphone. Hardly past one and the animatronics had already visited them more than they had on her first night. Kyle shook her head trying to wrap her mind around what a ridiculous and terrible situation she’d put herself in.

“Buckle down,” Mike’s voice was firm, a commander talking to his subordinate. “We’ll make it through but I need you to focus.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” Kyle said partly to herself. She took a breath, straightened herself, and looked back out the window, resuming her sentinel duty. Partial peace resumed as the animatronics wandered their domain. At the moment it sounded like Chica was bumping around in the kitchen. Kyle let herself shudder as the cold brushed past her and left her with a chill. The same chill that held the pizzeria’s very atmosphere. She worked her jaw and stared out the window, listening for anything moving in.

Inwardly, she couldn’t be more glad that Mike was here with her. This was only her second shift at Freddy’s, surviving a night like this on her own would be near impossible. 

 

Inside the sealed up safe room lifeless, silver, glowing eyes twitched back and forth. Attentively he listened to the muffled, but all too familiar, sound of heavy metal doors slamming down onto the metal thresholds below. The pained form of Springtrap sat were he’d been stuck ever since the current owners decided to lock him away. Rasping false breaths wheezed in and out of his tattered rotting maw, like his spirit was trying to catch a breath it’d never have again. A growl tumbled out of his suit, he was alone currently. The other entity hadn’t been around since he’d awoken tonight, but still he was trapped in this room. 

With a distorted snarl Springtrap tried forcing himself to rise but the locked joints refused him again. He achieved nothing other than a few scraping noises of his exposed, metal half slightly shifting along the concrete ground. The joint locks continually defied him no matter how hard he willed his tomb to move. It was either because the joints had gotten instantaneously rusted together, all of them had somehow gotten stuck, or he simply couldn’t overpower the locks in the suit. 

Springtrap checked around the room again, still alone. He didn’t know what the other entity would do, or could do, he just wanted to be sure. Springtrap looked down at one of his bare metal legs and focused on it. The top part of his metallic food responded as did the three digits; however, soon as he tried to get the knee to budge it barely twitched. A similar thing happened when he tried moving an arm, the hand and its individual digits responded but nothing else. He could move his feet, hands, and head, but nothing key to actually getting up and moving.

A frustrated shriek shot from Springtrap and he began twitching more than before. He jerked left, right, and up to no success. Mounting anger only seemed to make the pain his being endured more prominent, which in turn fed his anger even further. The rotting hybrid suit gave a graveled rasp, head pushing forward in another attempt to move. The feeling of the cables lodged in his mummified skull radiated constant pain, reprimanding the attempt. Springtrap hissed at the sensation but pressed forward causing it the pain to enflame further.

An angry hiss slid from his maw as something forcibly shoved him back down. In retaliation Springtrap automatically snapped at whatever had done so. A loud pop resulted when his jaws met nothing but air. A growl rumbling in his both of his jaws, Springtrap glared at the one that’d made him sit still. 

Looming over him was a damaged yellow bear animatronic known to some as Golden Freddy, known to others as Fredbear. The sight of the being painfully brought up memories from moments from before his end and another, years older than that. The bear was damaged but not as badly as the bunny. Similarly, though it was missing an ear. Part of the metal rod it’d been connected to haphazardly jutted out with frayed red and blue wires. 

Springtrap narrowed his glowing eyes leeringly, a scar like nick on one lid allowing some of the ethereal glow to shine through. The phantom before him had flinched at his bite, he’d seen it. A gravel filled chortle slipped through the gaps between his teeth.

The phantom bear gave no visible reaction to the rotting hybrid suit’s mocking and instead turned its attention back towards the door. The ethereal dots of light that sat in otherwise empty sockets glanced back towards Springtrap. In a flicker of a moment the golden animatronic phantom was gone.

Springtrap narrowed his eyes towards the door, displeased with the fact he was unable to simply leave. Fredbear, Golden Freddy, whatever, didn’t want him to get out of the room. Springtrap’s head jerked to the side and body twitched before his head lurched forward, a pained groan wafted from his foul maw. His form was wracked with pain, but fueled by anger and desire to inflict his pain on the ones who’d woken him.

One way or another he was going to get free…

 

“There’s that noise again.” Kyle said mostly to herself. Once again the faint sound of something had rung in the distance.

“Sounded like an animatronic’s cry…” Mike said to Kyle’s surprise. He looked to the camera control pad, currently it was almost two am, and flipped through the back hall cameras. The sound seemed distant enough that it should’ve come from around there. The back hall was empty, the backstage was empty, but the parts and service’s room currently held Bonnie. Mike scrutinized the scene shown by the camera, something didn’t sit right with him.

Lips in a disbelieving frown Mike shook his head. “Something’s not matching up.”

“Aside from the killer robots?” Kyle commented dryly, hand dangling towards the currently open left doorway.

Mike rolled his eyes to the side, not appreciating the sarcasm. “No, the cry…sounded different…way too soft.” The older guard shook his head, dismissing his own observation, “Ah, forget it. We’ll worry about it later.”

Even with her sarcastic remark prior Kyle did want to figure out what that noise was. It’d happen during both of her shifts, it obviously meant something. If Mike thought that it was an animatronic then it’d be in not only hers, but both of theirs’ best interest to find out what it was. As Mike said though, another thing for later.

“Right. So where are they right now?” Kyle questioned as Mike flipped through the cameras. “And how’s our power?”

“Bonnie is in the parts and services, Balloon Boy is in the main party room, Chica’s by the bathrooms, and Mangle’s over with Foxy in front of the cove.” Mike listed off with a frown. The sight of the two foxes being with each other did not sit well with him, or his old wound. His weathered scar manifested an acute pain that made his expression stiffen. He clicked away from the camera and distracted himself by winding the music box.

“And the power?” Kyle asked again after a few moments passed with no answer.

“It’s fine.” Mike assured briskly as he put the control panel back down, his routine checks over with for the moment. 

Kyle found it hard to respond, somehow she felt like she’d touched a nerve. As such she only managed a quiet, “Good to hear…”

Mike didn’t say anything in turn, but Kyle hadn’t expected him to. Silently the two went back to their jobs of monitoring and staying alert as time slipped slowly by. Staying constantly on edge was proving strenuous for Kyle. She was certain she’d be sore later, at least some degree. Despite the cold chill in the air and her lack of moving Kyle was sweating lightly as she stared out the window, practically waiting for Bonnie to jump out of the darkness. 

A sudden blaringly loud screeching noise from the control tablet caused Kyle’s heart to jump inside her chest with a start. The noise was akin to a static version of nails dragging up and down a chalkboard with seemingly no end. She clutched her ears, desperately trying to block the noise out. It was worse than the distorted radio signal that’d come out of Mangle! Cringing at the noise Kyle forced herself to look at the tablet, the act seeming to make it all the worse. 

“What is wrong with it!” Kyle yelled, trying to be heard over the offending noise.

Mike didn’t seem to hear her as he picked up the tablet. His face went pale. “No, no, not this!”

Now at his side Kyle looked at the tablet to see what in the world was going on. The screen was fading in and out of being dominated by static. Between the random transitions Kyle could see the camera was on Freddy. The bear almost looked hollow eyed between fade ins and outs. The static stayed longer with each return and lingered strongly over the camera map, making it impossible to switch point of views. Still Mike continued to try and switch, but each failure to change cameras only worried Kyle more.

“What’s going-” Kyle cut off abruptly when an odd otherworldly noise rang from the device. The female guard let out a pained gasp as the noise seemed to invade her very mind. She didn’t notice but Mike did the same as well and gripped his head with one hand. The noise seemed to echo around in her skull, the same two words over and over. The words were so distorted she couldn’t make out what was being chanted. When it just began to fade out the tablet let out a bunch of strange almost malfunctioning sounds.

Laying her eyes on the result of the noise Kyle was left staring. Slowly she peeled her gaze away and looked to Mike for answers, “What…is going on?”

Words were appearing all over the screen. They disappeared and reappeared, seemingly at random, leaving brief moments to read what they said. The screen itself had gone black and the words appeared with a simple font of varying sizes. Each time the words danced around the screen it crackled with static causing the words to distort like they were having spasm attacks. What was said on the screen made the unease in Kyle worsen further into building panic.

“It’s Me. Leave. Leave. LEAVE. It’s Me. Go Now. Get out. Out. Get out. Leave NOW.”

The screen calmed leaving nothing but a blank black screen. A dull ringing came from the tablet, but it lasted only a briefly. Two words appeared at the top left of the screen.

“It’s me.”

A presence appeared in the room along with the words. Kyle felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise up in alarm. The air seemed to have dropped ten degrees and everything went rigidly still in the cold. Kyle could hear whatever it was breathe, painful, choking rasps, and twitch with that jarring distorted noise. It had to be an animatronic, but Kyle couldn’t figure out how the thing had gotten into the room so suddenly. They’d been vigilant, no animatronic had been close enough to just jump into the room out of nowhere! So what was in the room with them at this very moment?

Kyle slowly started to lift her head upward to get a look. Almost immediately a strong, calloused hand grabbed the back of her head and forced back down. She stiffened physically and internally when Mike hissed, “Keep your head down!”

Kyle obeyed and nodded mutely. The tension in the air became thick, pressing down on the guards as the presence stayed with them. Kyle’s heart was racing in her chest, trying to urge her to get up and run. It took all of her self-restraint to keep herself in her chair, in the office with this unearthly thing. Mike was next to her; she didn’t know when but the man had pulled his chair over to her. His hand was still on the back of her head, keeping her from looking at whatever it was that had him so frightened. Glancing at him she could see his neck was tight with fear.

Both guards pulled back into their chairs, stiffening further, when a heavy five-fingered hand fell atop the tablet. Kyle could see the shaking return to Mike, more noticeable than before. Still, he held fast teeth bared and clenched.

The hand was animatronic and had a golden yellow color. The segmented parts of the suit were worn and damaged, a few small holes here and there. The pointer finger’s tip was nearly completely exposed as was the ring finger. Kyle could see wires poking out of one of the holes in the suit. The hand looked so solid yet it left no shadow.

Kyle’s attention was quickly taken from the hand to the screen going absolutely crazy. One word from before was reappearing but much faster than it had prior. It was like the entity was trying to be more forceful, yet… almost frantic?

“LEAVE. LEAVE. LEAVE. LEAVE. LEAVE!”

A rush of footsteps overrode the sound of static and choked breaths. Kyle whipped her head to the side as she immediately recognized the sound of Foxy. Momentarily forgetting the presence of the unknown animatronic Kyle slammed her hand down on the door button. The caution line bordered door slammed down, and when it did Kyle realized she just might have antagonized the being. However, soon as that thought come so did she notice the lack of rasping breathes and heavy presence. Somewhat confused Kyle looked behind her and saw no yellow animatronic.

There was no relief when a loud, piecing, metal shriek stabbed its way through her ears. The scream was backed up with a series of loud bangs against the door. Kyle blinked the door light not once but three times, like using it more would get the hook-handed pirate fox to stop, and leave faster. The act did get the animatronic to stop assaulting the door but Kyle didn’t hear any footsteps walking away.

Kyle stepped away from the door, as if worried that her presence near it would cause the fox to attack again. The sound of frantic, uncontrolled breathing behind her caused a different alarm to go off inside her mind. Kyle looked over to her work partner Mike was sweating, pale faced, breathing erratic, and by the look of his eyes, wasn’t completely aware of where he was anymore.

He’s having a panic attack! Kyle thought as she hurried over to older night guard. She’d never seen someone have a panic attack before, but she could only guess that Mike was having one. Standing beside the man Kyle had no idea what to do. She looked him over and failed to come up with a quick solution. Needing to do something she grabbed his shoulders, trying to get his attention.

“Mike, Mike everything’s alright. Focus…come on, you can pull through this…You did it before.” Kyle reasoned with a pleading reassurance. She bit down on her lip out of stress, and restrained panic, when her words didn’t even seem to have been heard by Mike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not done with night five yet folks! I have another chapter devoted to this night.
> 
> Ah, feel that Springtrap. That's karma. In the form of eternal pain. Speaking of Mr. Murder Bunny...night six, that'll be the night you guys have been waiting for.


	21. Old Scars (part1)

He was eighteen again, dark brown hair a sweaty mess poked out from under his purple and black billed, security hat. His light blue eyes darting every which way, trying to spot which side the living nightmares were going to maul him from. He vainly tried to swallow his unsteady breaths, trying to calm himself to no avail. He was sweating, and his slightly chubby physique wasn’t helping the matter. The idea that the animatronics could smell fear was something that weighed heavily on his young panic stricken mind.

His only source of security was the computer monitors in front of him. His right hand held onto the simple black mouse with a death grip. It was his last day, his last night in this hell hole. Tomorrow, he’d come in and get his paycheck, once it was in his hands he was going to quit. He just had to survive tonight then he could kiss this place good-bye and never come back!

I-I can do this…I can, I can! Mike thought with attempted conviction, he swallowed with more believable uncertainty. He looked at the time on the lower right corner of the computer screen, five twenty-eight. A weak smile quirked up at the end of his lips and Mike spoke reassuringly to himself, “Almost there. Almost there! I can do this, just a little over thirty minutes left…”

The last five hours and twenty-eight minutes had been complete torture to the poor eighteen-year-old. The trio of Chica, Bonnie, and Freddy were acting more possessed than on the previous nights. Their heads jerking around so badly the he felt they should have snapped off immediately. Both of their jaws hung open uttering noises Mike was certain would haunt him long after tonight. He could only describe them as the sound of something dying, slowly, and painfully. Almost every time he looked up at the windows one of the monsters was staring into the office like he was a piece of meat. Even the cupcake Carl was worse, more than once the mini-bot had shown up without Chica having been around.

At least, Mike carefully glanced around the office, at least the other animatronic hadn’t appeared yet. He could count that as a blessing so far. One he hopefully hadn’t jinxed.

The sound of nearby hurried animatronic footsteps caused Mike to jump in his seat. Freddy Fazbear was moving in. A deep, haunting laugh that followed shortly after confirmed Mike’s dreaded thought. He quickly clicked over to came 4A, in the right hall stood the large brown bear animatronic. Freddy’s head hung back at a discomforting angle, large jaws pulled back as far as they could go. Leaving the inner endoskeleton jaws exposed, ready to bite into anything foolish enough to get near.

With a crackle, static took over the screen and Freddy vanished from sight. Knowing what that meant Mike quickly shut the right door. The door fell down with a heavy slam of metal on metal. Freddy’s jingle floated through the air, the bear was letting him know that it was nearby. Mike looked at camera 4B, and despite knowing what he’d see clicked on it anyway. As expected Freddy’s face was right up in the face of the camera. The song became louder inside the security office as the camera fed its audio to the monitor speakers.

Being up so close to the camera lens Freddy’s face was forebodingly shadowed, causing the bear to look more intimidating than Mike already considered it to be. Gone was the clunky, goofy, friendly, and welcoming titular mascot and what had replaced him was a cold, merciless, killing machine. One that had a group of friends to help in capturing the poor, weak night guard that was cowering inside the security office.

Said guard clicked away from camera 4B to cam 1C the dreaded Pirate Cove. Mike shook his head, pitifully chanting to himself, “No, no, no…”

Foxy the Pirate fox was ready to charge. The fox was leering at the camera, head looking back over its furry red shoulder with what could be described as a wide toothy grin. Its hook was raised in the air tauntingly. The camera light shinned off the object, displaying its very real metal. If Mike wasn’t so freaked out, he’d question why the hook was legitimate. At the moment; however, the fact only frightened him.

Mike had been able to keep Freddy penned up on the stage on Thursday. Friday and Saturday; however, he’d only been able to keep the bear at his starting point for most of the night. Foxy had always gotten out at least once. Tonight; however, he’d charged twice already and was now aiming for a third time. Freddy had been free since three am, and had proven to be the hardest to keep track of. For a big brown bear, Freddy moved around quickly and was more keen on trying to stay out of sight. Up until he was nearby that is, then it seemed like the mascot enjoyed taunting the guard.

The young guard took deep breaths, in and out, in and out, trying to gather himself to avoid having a break down. He was close, so close!

“Just a little longer…” Mike reminded himself with a shaky exhale. He had twelve percent power left, plenty for what was now less than thirty minutes left. Freddy could stand outside the door as long as he wanted. Mike’s main worry was how Foxy somehow drained power when banging on the door. If Foxy took too much when it next charged, Mike would be in serious danger.

Mike took a rest from clicking around on the cameras to conserve power. With shaky hands he picked up his thermos that’d been sitting on the desk, and took the brief moment to drink some coffee. Even with the caffeine he had in his system Mike just wanted to curl up somewhere and sleep his troubles away. 

The guard tried his best to ignore the sound of Freddy’s song continuing to play from beyond the shut door. It was hard to do. It was so haunting, like it was meant to be his funeral song. The thought unsettled Mike enough that he swallowed what felt like a sizeable rock down his throat. His arms were shaking anxiously, causing the one that gripped the mouse to jitter ever so slightly. The weak movement was enough to get the pointer to jerk back and forth on the screen. The remaining coffee in his thermos could be heard splashing against the walls of the container as he set it down.

Mike let go of the mouse and rubbed his arms, trying to give himself some comfort. Before this nightmare Mike wouldn’t have considered himself overly anxious or fearful. He had just been a regular guy who had a girlfriend and friends he’d hung out with. Back then, he’d been more concerned about the relationship with his girlfriend and what he was going to do with his life. Now he could feel himself cracking under the effects of this job.

He’d only stuck around to get the check. Normally he’d have dropped this job soon as Bonnie had first gotten off the stage and tried to maul him. After graduating his father had given him luggage, some money, and set him out into the world. Mike hadn’t been too bothered by it, he’d known beforehand. A drunkard his father was, but he wasn’t cruel. He’d already made plans to move into a small apartment with his girlfriend. Two young adults needed money and only one of them working a mediocre job wouldn’t be enough, at least not to live comfortably. Mike already had another job lined up, one that he’d begin working for a day after he quit. 

All he had to do now, was survive.

Mike snapped from his thoughts as he heard the heavy thumping sound of an animatronic nearby. It sounded like it’d come from the left hall. On impulse Mike pressed the left door light, with a buzz the light outside the door came to life. He saw nothing but the dirty hall outside, crumpled paper balls, other trash, and the old monitors that were stacked there for whatever reason. On the wall was papers with text written on them. What they read Mike was only vaguely aware of at the moment. He remembered something about newspaper articles, recommendations, rules, and other seemingly miscellaneous writings.

Thump, thump, thump, sounded the animatronic footsteps as what was likely Bonnie moving in towards the guard. Mike felt his heart jump in his chest with a jolt of fear at the thought. He checked cam 2B, if Bonnie was moving in it’d have come by the last cam before the doorway. To his surprise there was nothing on screen but the dirty hall corner. 

Even though this was evident, Mike found himself staring at the screen longer than needed. Something was off about it, something was different. He gazed at it critically, examining the set he’d seen for seven nights in a row. Then he noticed the change and stared fearfully. What had once been a warm, welcoming, Freddy Fazbear poster was now an empty eyed, staring, head. Golden Freddy had somehow replaced the image of its counterpart with itself. 

“No…not now!” Mike yelled and no sooner than he had his vision was assaulted with visions of empty eyed animatronics. Freddy, Bonnie, Foxy, Chica and finally, the bulky head of Golden Freddy appeared in front of him. Its appearance was different than before. It was damaged, ear missing, wires limply gaining out, some were even slumped over the rim of its left eye. Mike let out a scream of pained protest as a voice invaded his mind. He shot up from his chair and stumbled into the back wall of the security office. 

The words were simple but the voice seemed to scrape them along the insides of his mind. They rung like bludgeoning echoes, bouncing off one wall to the other but always staying right at the forefront. Mike could barely hear his own screaming over the sound, let alone the sound of the old rolling chair crashing onto the tiled ground. Mike gripped his head as he was assaulted by the supernatural attack. Quickly his mind began to go numb and fuzzy, the world around him was beginning to fade. Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision. It moved in slowly, almost carefully, as the guard submitted to the attack.

The vision of Golden Freddy stayed at the center of what was left of Mike’s vision. Never fading out, or drifting away. Through his hazy self-awareness, Mike could have sworn that the thing was getting more solid. His vague thought was proven right when a pair of hands clamped right down onto his shoulders.

“It’s me. It’s Me. IT’s Me. IT’S ME!”

The voice got steadily louder, and louder, as the phantom animatronic materialized before his fogged vision. Burning white-hot dots had taken housing in the large empty eye holes. Mike almost felt like the air was being sucked out of him as the phantom being burned its gaze into his. He could feel the animosity, the hate, the emanating anger, and the sheer desire to kill. A desire further shown when Golden Freddy wrapped its ten digits tight around Mike’s neck.

A hoarse gasp escaped Mike’s throat as the pressure forcibly closed his wind pipe. Mike faintly felt his legs get lifted off the ground. The thing was going to choke him out and wanted a good view of his face as it did so. Mike’s face quickly began turning blue as he began to run out of oxygen. 

Don’t…look…at it! A last ditch effort to save himself managed to make it through his buzzing and fading mind. Mike closed his eyes, shutting his sight from the animatronic. It had worked the last few times Golden Freddy had appeared. He wasn’t sure if it would now, but it was worth a try in order to save himself. At the very least he wouldn’t have those eyes burning holes through his head before he died.

The phantom gripped his throat tighter, forcing a weak gasp to be squeezed out. Mike held fast as he could, refusing to open his eyes out of the last shred of stubbornness he had. Then like a miracle the pressure encasing his throat lifted. Instantly Mike greedily sucked air into his reopened wind pipe. With nothing hold him up any longer the guard fell down to onto the hard linoleum floor.

He gave a grunt as his rear hit the ground, but despite that Mike couldn’t feel any greater relief. Suddenly being able to breath was like a precious reward that he was excitedly trying out. Mike breathed in and out, trying to use the taken in oxygen to help refocus him mind. Trembling like a leaf, Mike branched one of his arms out to the wall behind him. He grasped out for it, like a toddler trying to grab onto something to help him up. Mike failed once but corrected himself appropriately the second time. Steadily, but still shaking, Mike pulled himself up to his feet. 

His hat had fallen from his head sometime during the attack, leaving his dark brown hair exposed. That wasn’t even on his list of concerns at the moment. He had to focus. He had to gather what was left of his torn up and ripped apart nerves. Mike had to gather himself if he was to make it out of this place alive.

On shaky legs Mike half stumbled back over to the computer. He narrowed his unfocused eyes at the tiny clock in the corner of the screen. The numbers looked blurred like someone had taken their thumb and tried to rub them out. Mike squeezed his eyes shut, willing his mind to at least focus enough that he could read. Upon opening his eyes Mike found his attempt was successful. At the moment it was eleven fifty-four.

“Six more minutes, six more minutes.” Mike muttered to himself, voice hoarse and sore.

Breathing labored the downtrodden guard slowly turned himself around to go and pick up his downed chair. It not being directly behind him he turned his head to see it lying in the corner, his hat tucked between it and the wall. As he took a step towards the chair he saw something red in his peripheral vision. Foxy had come to make one last ditch effort to kill him.

In a blur of red the vulpine animatronic lunged at Mike, its shriek shattering the frail silence that had hung in the air. Mike’s own yell followed soon after but was far weaker with its frightened tone. The young eighteen-year-old guard was hapless to try and fend off the monster up close. His weakened state didn’t help very much either. 

Foxy’s exposed metal hand dug into his neck, the ends of the fingers were rounded but that made them digging into his skin no less painful. The fox’s mouth hung open, the ominous choking noise had been replaced by a rasping rumbling. The thing was laughing at him, it was a strange variation, but there was no mistaking it. Foxy was giving a victory laugh. 

The fact left Mike staring at the animatronic. Aside from Freddy he hadn’t known any of the others to laugh. A sudden pain blooming right in his shoulder joint ripped Mike from his shock and a yell flung itself from his mouth. Foxy wasn’t letting its prey get away this time. It’d planted his hook right on top of his joint, making it excoriatingly painful to move his arm.

Its prey secured Foxy began pulling Mike out of the security office. With his non-hooked arm Mike desperately reached out and grabbed his flashlight out from his deep pant pocket. Mike just managed to flick the flashlight on when Foxy grabbed his arm, keeping him from flashing the light in its optics. Mike stared at the action but quickly got over it and struggled against the killing machine. Foxy snarled at the guard in frustrated agitation as it easily kept the guard’s arm in place. With a well-timed jerk, the animatronic forced a sharp, pained yelp from the young adult. 

While the pain left Mike stunned, Foxy began dragging the guard down the hall. Mike quickly found his feet limply following along on the dirty tile floor of the pizzeria. Frantically, the desire to escape still pumping through him, Mike scrambled his feet backwards trying to pull away. Foxy uttered a short growl and yanked forward again. This time Mike didn’t give it the satisfaction of hearing his pain, instead he bit down on his own lip. The painful hook his shoulder caused tears to form in the corner of his eyes, his own teeth biting into his lip helped this further.

He could taste his blood as it bled out from the tear in his lip, the smell of it coming from his shoulder seemingly amplified it. What followed became hazy as something broke through his focus. It was a sound, whatever it was it sounded desperate, almost as desperate as he was to get away. It was…a voice? Who was talking…? It sounded familiar…No, no, no! He had to get away from Foxy-Smack!


	22. Old Scars (part2)

Mike’s eyes regained focused with a start. Bewildered he looked around, trying to regain his bearings, he was in the security office but not the old one. This was the new one, the one that was clean and didn’t smell funky. Standing in front of him was a frantic looking Kyle, her eyes were wild and staring at him with desperation. Mike eyed her confusedly for a moment before he spotted the tablet lying forlornly on the desk. It was then he recalled what happened.

He’d had an episode. Mike grumbled irately to himself, he’d told himself he wouldn’t let that happen. But saying one thing and actually doing it, those were two entirely different things. Shaking his head, he felt his cheek, it tingled with the familiar sensation of being hit. He tossed a look towards Kyle, not irately just surprised, “Did you just…slap me?” 

Kyle let out a relieved sigh, Mike was back in the present. A giant worry was taken off of her shoulders. Stressed from freaking out, over trying to find a way to snap Mike out of his panic attack, Kyle felt significantly drained. She sat on the metal desk and nodded limply, “Yeah…nothing else seemed to work. So, I just…kind of did it.”

Kyle tilted her head slightly, carefully observing her coworker. She worked her lips tentatively, “You okay now?”

“Okay as I can be.” Mike half muttered as he held the side of his head. Of all the situations that could have unfolded tonight, Golden Freddy manifesting itself and then immediately after Foxy? What were the chances? Mentally he berated himself, it was Friday, of course there was a chance of Golden showing up.

Once more Mike looked around the office, familiarizing himself with it again. Somehow everything seemed unfamiliar, yet he clearly recognized it. His mind was still clearing up somewhat, for the moment it was muddled. He tensed recalling Foxy had been pounding on the door like it was a drum. Things seemed quiet for the moment though. He looked back to Kyle for an update, “How long was I out of it?”

Kyle blinked a few times, surprised by how fast Mike was jumping back on the proverbial saddle. Nonetheless she gave a report, “Not too long a few minutes at best. I shut the other door just to be safe, but it doesn’t seem that anything else has shown up. I’m sure I heard footsteps though…” She gave the veteran guard a wry grin and a short lived shaky laugh, “Heh, was kind of more worried about you…”

Mike only gave a disgruntled grunt in response. Kyle offered a small, reassuring smile in turn but the other guard didn’t seem to appreciate it. Dropping the expression Kyle looked over to the left window and frowned, noticing the shape that still lingered outside. She was going to point it out to Mike, but halted upon realizing that the fox had been what sent him over the edge. Instead Kyle opted to simply get up and handle the animatronic herself.

“He’s still there?” Kyle halted at Mike’s sudden question, something was brewing just under his brusque tone. 

“Foxy, he’s still there?” Mike asked again as he stood up from the chair, strength seeming to have returned from nowhere.

“Uh, yeah…” Kyle answered, as trying to deny it would be pointless with the fox right outside. She was surprised when a look of anger arose in Mike’s expression. Before the older guard even had to ask Kyle moved out of his way as he stormed over to the window. She winced and then stared when Mike banged on the glass with the side of his fist. What in the world was he thinking?

“Hey! Hey! Remember me?” Mike demanded loudly through the thick glass that separated him and his long ago attacker. The animatronic jerked its head over to him, the noise snapping it from its stupor. Nearly immediately it’s eyes were rekindled with a blazing fury of recognition. Foxy wasn’t pleased to see one that had gotten away. The fox’s anger caused a taunting grin to break onto Mike’s face, “Yeah, that’s right. I’m back.”

A tone of cold anger burned its way into Mike’s voice as he glared at the fox, “You’d better hope you get me. If you don’t. I’m going to make you pay for what you did to me! Once you turn off, once your asleep…I’m going to make you choke on your own hook! You hear me? You’ll eat it fox!”

If Foxy was going to give any sort of reaction Mike didn’t let it, the middle aged man clicked the lights then slumped back into one of the free chairs. Kyle stared at the other guard like he’d just disrupted the natural balance of things. What’d she’d witness was no doubt incredible but also incredibly stupid. Her eyes flited over to the window when she heard the sound of Foxy’s paws clomping away from their office. 

A long tired sigh wafted from Mike bringing the female guard’s attention back to him. She was uncertain what to say about the scene she’d just watched transpire. Kyle instead decided to simply get things back on track. She held up the tablet for him to see, saying, “So…are you good to take back the helm?”

As she asked Kyle noticed the strength he’d mustered from his anger had was no longer present, all had been spent on that moment. It wasn’t nearly as bad as his panic attack, but Mike was shaking and wiping sweat off his face. Mike responded to her with a wave of his hand. There was relief when Mike’s voice came steadily from his mouth, “You take the controls. I’ll man the doors.”

“Sure thing.” Kyle answered steadily as she took her seat. She was back on the red upholstered table chair again, the large star decorative center sitting square at the center of her back. Kyle scooted the chair to the center of the desk when Mike moved the rolling chair back. She looked at the tablet screen, it was still on the main stage. Kyle stared when she saw the stage vacant. She glanced over to the camera map to check if she was looking at the right camera. Cam 1A, the main stage. 

“Uh, Mike…Freddy’s gone.” Kyle said, the weight of an ice covered rock making its home in her gut.

On cue the star of the pizzeria, the titular mascot’s signature laugh echoed forebodingly through the halls of the building. Mike felt a chill cause his body to shudder at the all too familiar sound. The fact his episode had brought his previous encounter with the bear to his mind’s forefront didn’t help. Mike buried his face into his hands, “God dammit…”

“What time is it?” Mike asked briskly as he looked carefully to the right door. Freddy’s preferred rout, but a few times the bear had taken the left one. The leader of the animatronics was a tricky one. Always best to be on ones toes when Freddy was moving around. 

“Three forty-three.” Kyle answered automatically, having been looking at the time already. 

A tired sigh exited Mike and he sat himself up more straightly, “Least we’re half way.” He took a deep breath and expended instruction, “Keep your eye on the fox and puppet. I’ll tell you when to check the halls, but if you hear the bear’s song. Check them both. This bear is a tricky one and we gotta be careful.”

“Got it…” Kyle said wearily as the sound of hurried footsteps accompanied by laughter was heard in the background. Kyle hadn’t thought there was anything more intimidating than Foxy, but she’d been wrong. The groups ursine leader’s laugh was chillingly foreboding, and his hurried footsteps only built on the already present tension. She forced herself to focus on the tablet in front of her. In doing so she gulped, three forty-three and they had forty-one percent power. Because of Mike’s episode she had to keep both doors shut draining power fast, she’d also checked cams a couple of times as well. It was going to be a close night.

By the time five am rounded the corner, Kyle was growing rather tired. Freddy had quickly proven himself to be a majorly stressful to deal with. The bear had little to no pattern to its movement. It clearly favored the right hall but if Chica was already heading that way he’d head to the left hall if able. If not, then it was willing to share a hall with the avian animatronic. The lead singer was surprisingly spry on his heavy feet as well, sprinting from one position to the next. Judging by how the brown bear hid it was clear that it was cleverer than others, making his quick movement all the more dangerous. More than once did the screen cut to static and the bear vanished from sight soon as Kyle spotted him. If it wasn’t for Mike’s help Kyle knew she would’ve panicked and lost focus, something they couldn’t afford at this point. 

For the two hours since it’d left the stage the right door went up and down more times than in the first three. Mike wasn’t leaving any openings for the bear to get in. On and off went the door light in hopes of deterring the towering ursine leader. Thus far it had proven effective in keeping the flight-footed Freddy away, but it also proved taxing on their energy reserve. 

“This, is why it’s best to keep him on stage.” Mike stated after raising the right door once again. The veteran guard leaned back in his chair, listening acutely for the slightest sound to indicate what the bear was up to. Didn’t seem like anything at the moment. Knowing Freddy, the animatronic was probably back at the hall cam, staring up at it with a death glare. He did; however, hear Chica’s clunking feet heading down the hall. The chicken’s footsteps were firmer than the others, her feet lacking the padding of her furry counterparts. A trained ear could tell the difference quick enough. 

“Chica’s coming.” Mike said to Kyle as the other guard checked Foxy for what was probably the twentieth time. He frowned recalling that blasted cupcake Chica had. Damn little gremlin had taken a bite out of him a couple of times. Had it been someone else he’d have been amused by the irony. With the current situation though, he warned his companion, “Keep an ear out for clattering, that’ll be her cupcake.”

Kyle stopped, put the tablet down, and looked at Mike like he’d at long last lost it. “You’re joking right?” She asked incredulously. 

Mike shot her an insulted and reprimanding look, “No. I’m not.”

Immediately Kyle regretted her previous words and nodded in an admonished manner. She felt like she’d been scolded by her father, and Mike had the age to fill such a role. Kyle had always been the odd tough girl, but overly disobedient to her parents she had not been. She switched her eyes back to camera tablet. Kyle wanted to say something in apology, but something told her Mike just wanted her to keep monitoring. Feeling Mike’s gaze shift back to the hall Kyle felt minute relief. 

A sound similar someone rapidly hitting on a large drum sent both guard’s heart rates up. Kyle snapped into action and toggled the vent cam. Mangle was in the vent, and soon as the cam showed the fox a blizzard of static dominated the screen. She hadn’t even had enough time to react and hit the seal! Abandoning the tablet, she looked around for the mask. Looking down she found a pair sitting snuggly under the desk. Had Mike put them there? 

No time to think with the white fox charging at them Kyle picked up the Freddy head and tossed it to Mike. The older guard caught the heavy mask with a grunt and shoved it onto his head. Kyle quickly did the same and through the large ocular holes she spotted a chicken’s beak sticking out at the front of the mask. Apparently she was wearing an empty Chica head.

Hearing the gratingly familiar sound of Mangle’s radio-like rattling Kyle lifted her head up. The roomy mask slumped back against her face in response to the movement, it felt like the heavy object was pushing on her head back, trying get her to lean back further. Kyle stilled herself when a skeletal robotic hand grabbed the edge of the vent. The hissing radio signal grew steadily louder and clearer as Mangle’s heads exited the echoing vent. The white fox’s two heads pinned down one guard each as it craned its necks out of the vent.

Keeping its phantasmal and plastic eyes on the two figures Mangle twisted its midsection in the vent, hand reaching out for the office’s ceiling. By way of some supernatural force Mangle crawled out from the metal tunnel and onto the ceiling’s surface. Slowly like a creeping predator the white vulpine slinked out into full view. Aside from the head no other suit pieces decorated Mangle, leaving exposed an unsettling human-like endoskeleton. Each of Mangle’s joints were ball joints giving the toy animatronic a very fluid movement, its limbs could twist in any direction it so desired. 

Perched like an upside down gargoyle between the ceiling and back wall Mangle’s heads closely examined the two masked guards. Kyle didn’t dare move, but even if she wanted to her body was too paralyzed with fear. Mangle’s true head was mere inches away from the side of the bulbous Chica mask. Kyle cringed at the static hissing, clawing, at her eardrum like an angry animal. It wasn’t far from the truth with the glaring look the animatronic was giving her, Mangle’s lower jaw quivered as it mulled over what it saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene at the end with Mangle was originally set to happen back in chapter 5. Then I ended up changing the story and it ended up here. Good to finally get to it.


	23. Old Scars (part3)

A pair of heavy thudding footsteps came from the right hall, causing Kyle to recall the two who’d been lurking in the hall. A cheery chime flowed into the small office, filling the air, to announce bear’s soon to come arrival. With a few footsteps later the looming entity known as Freddy Fazbear took up the doorway. Next to him in the window was his back up Chica, on one of her hands was her platter and on it was Carl. Kyle was stunned as the cupcake seemed to be chattering to Chica, its frosting top flapping up and down. The chicken didn’t seem interested in whatever noise the mini-bot was making and kept its violet eyes on the office. 

The approach of the other two caused Mangle to swivel its head completely all the way around. The fox’s ears twitched once before it slunk off into the opposite corner of the room. Once it did Freddy entered the office, and when the lead animatronic did Kyle was stiffened enough to be a legitimate statue. She didn’t dare breath out of time with the bear’s moments.

Somehow, Freddy seemed bigger up close, even when it stood between her and Mike the bear took up a good chunk of her vision. Weren’t Freddy, Chica, Bonnie supposed to be around the same size? Were they all this big? Kyle knew Mangle and Foxy were leaner to attribute to their foxlike quality, but the main trio were huge! With each passing second Kyle wondered more and more how these robots were supposed to be child friendly mascots.

A whir caught Kyle’s attention, Freddy was looking at her. The song was continuing to play on, sounding like a timer that would eventually run out, Freddy’s eyes flashed in time with the notes. Beads of sweat trailed down from Kyle’s forehead, along the sides of her face, and lastly down her chin. The mascot mask wasn’t meant to be worn, and even with the extra space it was uncomfortably hot. Or maybe it was just her swelling fear that was causing her to break into a sweat.

Before its song ended Freddy’ slowly turned its head contemplatively over to Mike who bore a mask of its own face. Kyle swallowed silently, would it fall for its own visage being shown back to it? Kyle tried looking at Mike from the very rim of her eyes. She could just barely make him out off to the side of her. From what she could make out Mike was sitting still as a dressed up mannequin. Kyle set her jaw stiffly inside the mask, worried that the man would break out into a panic attack. Yet Mike stayed completely still, faintly Kyle wondered if he’d passed out from the intensity of the moment.

When the final note left Freddy’s mouth Kyle felt her heart go cold, it was time for the judgement. Slowly Kyle’s eyes followed Freddy as the ursine animatronic lumbered out of the office through the left entrance way. Apparently the lead animatronic had been satisfied with what it had seen. Mangle thankfully left right behind him, transitioning over the door head and onto the hall’s ceiling. A fading thudding to her right meant that Chica had left as well.

Once the animatronics were down the hall Kyle felt safe enough to breath normally again. She gasped aloud, shoulders heaving as she took air in and blew it out. Hoisting the Chica mask off of her head she turned to Mike. The man was slumped forward, hand gripping the arms of his chair like he’d fall forward otherwise. 

“Mike? Mike? Are you alright?” Kyle asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting to draw the animatronics right back to them. She was relieved when the middle aged man gave her a dismissive wave in response.

“I-I’m fine…Just, never had so many in the office at the same time before…” Mike said, the older man’s exhaustion finally showing itself. With shaky hands he took the Freddy head off his own, fumbling with it a bit as he pulled it off. It took force of will to keep himself from just dropping it to the ground, but the guard managed to put it gently down. Mask off Kyle could see the man’s age showing more than it did before, he looked tormented and haunted. This place was hell to him, yet he decided to come back. While Kyle worried for him, she admired the bravery he was putting forth. 

“Time?” Mike asked as he held his forehead, he felt dizzy, on the verge of fainting. He’d surprised himself when he hadn’t passed out from three of the damn things being in the room, but he knew he’d passed his limit. One more incident like that and he’d either have another episode, or pass out.

“Five forty-six. Almost there.” Kyle reported readily, sounding and looking relieved herself to see the time. She heard Mike bluntly mutter his relief before slumping back in his chair. He stared up at the ceiling, focusing on its blandness in attempt to calm himself.

“Mike.” Kyle’s suddenly tense, fearful, tone cause Mike to raise his head back up. She was staring at the tablet with an expression that said she was afraid to take her eyes off it. Brows dug downward Mike regarded her as she spoke again, “Mike shut the door. Shut it right now.”

Mike didn’t question her and sprang into action, the door fell effectively protecting them from whatever had Kyle spooked. The veteran guard seeing something in the window immediately looked to see what had arrived. Instead of a hulking robot he was met with the lithe, long limbed, form of Puppet. Mike quickly pulled back, startled by the far too silent appearance of the simple animatronic. The Puppet’s mostly black body caused it to meld into the darkness, its white mask to be floating in midair. It looked at them both silently, wide empty smile quickly becoming unsettling. 

One more second, if Mike had taken one more second Kyle knew that the marionette animatronic would have gotten in. The prize corner was just a bit ahead of kid’s cove, which was across from Pirate’s Cove, and with not even a noise the Puppet had appeared at their window in no time flat. The Puppet didn’t have a hook but something about the simple figure unnerved Kyle more than Foxy ever had. It had the air of someone, something, that was in control.

When the Puppet finally moved it tilted its head to the side, as if innocently regarding them with curiosity. Empty eyes landing on Mike, Puppet tilted its head to the other side like it was surprised by his presence. Next thing it did was shake its head as it waggled a finger at them. The guards became bewildered, was this thing scolding them? What for?

The Puppet turned its head away from them, cupped its three-fingered hand, the white rings on its puffy sleeves standing out against the stark, black background. Unexpectedly the animatronic marionette let out a rattling hissing noise. It was calling for the others. Both guards at that moment realized Freddy wasn’t the leader of the animatronics, unmistakably the bear was definitely more dangerous than most of the others, but it was the Puppet who led them. 

Down the hall in Pirate Cove Foxy’s eyes lit up as it heard Puppet’s call, now was the time to strike. The pirate leapt right off its stage, starry purple show curtain flapping madly behind it. Rushing down the left hall a growl rose up from its false throat, growing louder and fiercer as it neared the cornered prey. Bending its knees Foxy lunged for the doorway once near enough. Instead of screams the red fox was met with a metal door. Foxy shrieked and snapped angrily, fingered paw hand wiping at its snout. 

The animatronic snapped once more before it proceeded to beat on the door. One strike after another the animatronic seemed determined to break the heavy metal door down. It could hear the guards panicking inside encouraging the animatronic to wail on the door harder. Foxy only halted when the obscenely blinding door light flashed in its eyes. Foxy’s mind drew a blank, what it had been doing and why was completely lost to it.

Out from the shadows of the hall, Bonnie thudded its way towards the door the call having drawn it over as well. The purple guitarist looked through the window and saw Puppet gesture to the incapacitated Foxy. A ghostly whisper rung clearly in the animatronic’s mind, giving it instruction. With large hands Bonnie nudged Foxy out of the way. Facing the door way Bonnie pounded on the door with strong heavy swings, the banging like thunderclaps going off inside the pizzeria. 

“What in the world!” Kyle yelled in fright, quickly she whipped her head over Mike who stood staring at the bunny. “Has he ever done that before?” She demanded with a point the attacking animatronic.

“No.” Mike answered roughly, hands stiffly at his sides. Bonnie had always been opportunistic, attacking whenever it felt Mike wasn’t paying attention or when his guard was down. None of the other animatronics had ever even touched the door! Mike, grinded his teeth together, his heartrate was acting up again, his scar flaring in pain, and his mind was growing hazy. He spun himself around to glare defiantly at the Puppet. No, he wasn’t going to let this damn thing win!

“It’s the damn Puppet! It’s giving them orders!” Mike shouted, Bonnie’s banging on the left door continuing. Realizing this he looked at their power reserve, twelve percent and dropping readily. The power usage bar was red showing too much energy from the left door was being used. He snapped to Kyle, “Door light! Now!”

Kyle immediately jumped for the button but no sooner than when she got Bonnie to stop a rush of banging came from the vent. Mike didn’t stop to even check was inside as he sealed the vent off. Mike jumped when two bangs in unison came from the right door. He stared at what he saw, Chica was using its shoulder to bang on the door…meaning Freddy was on the other side doing the same. Mike stared at the Puppet, he swore the thing’s wide smile had curled maliciously at the ends.

“Who the hell are you…” Mike found himself whispering, he himself hardly hear his own words above the unified effort Freddy and Chica were putting in. Only once before Mike had heard what sounded like a coordinated effort to kill a guard. This was almost unreal…the thinnest, frailest looking animatronic he’d ever seen was just standing in the window like an evil master mind, giving orders to robots that could snap it in half. Mike had thought he knew how the animatronics operated but clearly not.

“It’s controlling those monsters?” Kyle yelled. Mike snapped from his moment and shined the door light on Freddy and Chica. Hearing her accusation Mike turned his attention back to her.

“They’re not-” His disagreement was interrupted when both Foxy and Bonnie began ramming up against the left door. He bared his teeth when Balloon Boy’s jeering laughter came from the hall with the Puppet. With a growl Mike gave an order to Kyle, “Stop them! We’re going to have to watch them!”

Fearful and feeling cornered Kyle gritted her teeth back and hit the door light. “Fine, but I want a seriously good explanation after this!” She snapped. 

“Have to get out of this first!” Mike yelled back to her. He hit the light again as well to keep Freddy and Chica at bay. Unfortunately, Puppet didn’t seem affected by the light and remained where to stood, leering at them. It did at least get Balloon Boy to stop his taunting laughter though.

Mike stood panting at the doorway, watching Chica for any signs the animatronic was coming to. He looked back to the tablet and from where he stood he could see that Mangle was still in the vent! Of course it was, they didn’t have a way to make it leave! It was just going to sit there and drain them of their last drop of power! Craning his neck, he saw they had just less than ten minutes left. It was going to be right down to the wire!

As the minutes slowly ticked by Mike kept glancing back to the marionette. The animatronic was slowly getting aggravated with the lack of success its assault was having. It crossed its arms, growing impatient with the two guards’ defiance. To Mike’s slight surprise it gained white orbs in its masks’ eye holes. Despite the situation Mike couldn’t help but grin.

“Heh, you ain’t getting us…” Mike said with rough defiance. He looked to his shift partner, “Get your flashlight ready.”

Kyle nodded, sweat dripping down the sides of her face, and got her flashlight ready in one hand. Mike did the same and stepped back a bit, faintly he wondered how much damage the heavy, metal flashlight would do to a frail animatronic. Mike kept his hand on the door light as he looked to the cam tablet. Less than five minutes to go and down to three percent power. Mike shook his head willing himself to hang just a bit longer, he couldn’t leave Kyle to fend off the pack of animatronics by herself. 

Mike and Kyle slowly backed up to the center of the small room, sticking together in preparation for whatever the puppet master was going to throw at them. They were thrown for a loop when the animatronic gave a sharp but brisk hiss. It flicked its hand back and the others stopped. Kyle and Mike watched in bewilderment as Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy all tromped off to their designated stages. To further surprise even Mangle left the vent, as was noted by the echoing bumps.

“Wha-what?” Kyle stammered confusedly as she watched the animatronics pass the windows.

“They don’t have enough time left to get in and drag us off.” Mike answered as he looked at the clock. Three minutes left. Mike gave a shaky laugh in victory when he saw they had two percent power left. Noticing Puppet was still present Mike bared his grin in defiance, but said nothing to the entity. He watched as the animatronic gave him a scathing glare before silently walking away. It almost seemed the thing glided on air.

With a shaky hand Mike disengaged the right door and the vent block. Breathing labored and both his will power and adrenaline drained the man fell back, slumping up against the wall. Mike heard Kyle call out in surprise and he managed a weak laugh to let her know he was alright. Least he tried to, Mike knew he didn’t look the least bit convincing with how he was sweating and shaking beyond his control. The least he could do was ensure she knew he wasn’t having another episode.

“Mike! Are you alright?” Kyle called as she knelt beside her coworker. Seeing his eye make contact with hers she was relieved to notice he wasn’t having a panic attack again. From what she could tell he was close to it though.

“Way…way too close for a first night back.” Mike managed with heavy breaths. He gulped down a big breath of hair and exhaled, his frame trembling as he did. He was in for a time of trying to get some sleep, he just knew it. If he managed to get any sleep at all that is.

“You going to be okay getting home?” Kyle questioned in concern. It didn’t sit right with her to just let a man trembling like a leaf drive home, especially after having a panic attack. She didn’t know much about PTSD but she’d bet money that Mike was suffering from it. Was it plausible that he’d have another episode if left alone, or worse when he was driving home?

“I-I’ll manage…” Mike uttered as he tried to get back to his feet, but struggled to. Not wanting to see him struggle Kyle helped him up, grabbing him around his midsection and pulling him up carefully. Too tired, Mike accepted the help with no protest.

“Hey…” Kyle began to catch Mike’s weary attention, “If you want, you can stay at my place. My girlfriend Jessica won’t mind. Just to keep an eye on you till you settle out…”

Mike gave her a surprised look, but it quickly passed with his current condition, “You just met me, and your gonna let me stay over…?”

“Far as I’m concerned, you’re the reason I’m still alive right now.” Kyle stated with complete earnest. The man leaned back against the wall on top of a poster. She put her hands on her hips, “Besides, I want that explanation I was promised soon as possible.”

“Heh, right.” Mike said with a hint of amusement. He nodded limply, “Yeah…I think I’ll take your offer…” Mike knew himself well enough. He knew he’d likely go through another episode if he was left alone after this. After being by himself for so long, he could use some companionship for once. At least one of them would be able to relate to what he endured.

Kyle nodded and helped lead the veteran guard out of the office and through the front doors. As she left Kyle felt a cool refreshing breeze hit her. Normally at dawn one would be met with a lovely sunrise, but this time a damp smell in the air greeted the two guards. Mike sat himself in the passenger seat of Kyle’s car. As she headed over to the driver’s side Kyle looked up at the sky where grey clouds were gathering.

“Hm, looks like a storm is brewing.” Kyle noted to herself before she got into her car. As she left the pizzeria parking lot Kyle felt like she just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week, the sleepy weather only promoted that feeling. Yet, she passed a glance back at Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria and got a sinking feeling got her. Shaking the feeling off she drove home, putting thoughts of her workplace behind her. For the time being, she was done with the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years Everybody!


	24. Save Them (part1)

“Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria! The place were fun and fantasy come to life!”

Kyle was bewildered to find herself standing at the entrance of the pizzeria. The last thing she remembered was coming home and then Mike collapsing on her couch soon as she’d gotten it ready for him. She looked around in confusion, something felt off…Everywhere she looked was like looking at an old photo. Everything looked faded, the objects, people, but mostly the colors. Kyle felt that if she reached out and touched a wall her hand would go right through it. Looking around more Kyle realized she was in a different Freddy’s, it was similar but definitely different from hers.

“Hello kids!” Kyle turned her head and saw Freddy on stage waving to the crowd, his warm jovial voice rebounding all way to where she stood. Looking around Kyle noted she was in the main party room. Before her were four long rows of muted colored tables, like they were covered in a fine layer of dust. On stage Freddy’s two friends were coming to life, heads raising and looking far more vibrant than the dull room around them. It was jarring how they genuinely friendly they looked at the moment, like the monsters she’d faced just moments before were a completely different set of animatronics.

“I’m so glad you all could come today! Me and my friends just love singing to you all and making sure you have a super special day!” Freddy announced as he motioned to the entirety of the people present. The bear laughed warmly, blinking in a slow mechanical manner, as his ears wiggled happily, “Are you ready to party?”

There was an uproar of children cheering, but it sounded muffled and distant, ghostly even. Kyle was left with brows furrowed as she looked around, everyone’s faces seemed blurred as if someone had tried to wipe them off. The animatronics of course didn’t notice this. Bonnie’s voice range clearly as the animatronic swiped his purple paw dramatically in front of his guitar, pretending to strum, “You heard’em Freddy! Let’s rock!”

The band of three began playing their song but Kyle felt compelled to wander the pizzeria and headed towards the other party rooms. As she did she noted Balloon Boy was not present at the prize corner. All alone sat the Puppet’s big box. There was no Mangle in the little kids play area either, which unlike her pizzeria was part of the main party room. As she wandered away, her feet seeming to guide her, the party dulled to a low continuous hum. The other rooms in the pizzeria were barren, no kids, no parents, no staff, not even a stray teenager stuck babysitting. This was barely registered to Kyle and she continued on. 

Down at the end of the hall she saw a child, around five or six, with long bond pigtails. Coming closer Kyle stalled when she saw what the child was looking at. It looked like Bonnie, but the bunny was such a deep purple she almost mistook it for black. The area the Bonnie stood in was darker, there were no lights on around it. A couple feet behind it and in front of it the lighting was normal, only the dark Bonnie was cloaked in darkness. Instead of reddish pink eyes the dark animatronic had those soulless dark holes with pinpricks of light for pupils. In stark contrast, a bright orchid purple bowtie sat on the creature’s chest.

“Follow me.” The shadowy animatronic held it’s hand out to the child. 

Kyle felt a sudden sense of urgency as the little girl took the bunny’s hand. She couldn’t let the child go with that thing! Kyle started running yet she couldn’t seem to get any closer. The Bonnie-look-alike took the child’s hand and began walking away. Around it the lights would shut off and upon moving away the others behind it would turn back on. Off and on, off and on, the lights changed with loud buzzes.

The Fazbear guard halted when the bunny suddenly looked back to her over its shoulder. A chill when up her spine when she saw the mask’s mouth warp into a twisted grin with crooked human teeth. The shadow animatronic mockingly waved its free hand over its shoulder at her. Strangely Kyle noted it had five fingers…didn’t the animatronic’s have four?

The bunny and child began to quickly fad into the distance, heading to a singular door at the end of the hall. Kyle wanted to scream out to the child but her voice seemed to have been lost. She called out but no words left her mouth. After what seemed like an eternity the two entered the room, the door shutting with a deafening finality. The hall in front of the door began flickering wildly, the light dying. Once the light died the other hall lights began shutting off in rapid succession. Startled by this Kyle tried backing away from the advancing darkness but it quickly caught up to her. Just as she was enshrouded by darkness all the forward motion she’d been attempting was suddenly released. Forward she was sent tumbling through complete darkness. 

Kyle’s voice returned to her in the form of a startled scream as she collided and stumbled through a metal door. She groaned and Kyle pulled herself up from a hard concrete floor. Where was she now? It looked like a storage room of some sort. Old arcade cabinets with “broken” and “out of order” signs were lined against a wall. A couple even looked familiar. There were crates against another wall. Then Kyle spotted something that made her stomach tie itself into sickened knots. 

Starting from the center of the room was a trail of blood, leading up to a blood stained, limp, animatronic suit. Normally Kyle would have been confused by the sight of a yellow Freddy Fazbear, but the blood seeping from its torso was far more concerning. Kyle pulled herself up to her feet for the sole reason of slowly backing away. She looked around the room, dull and muted like the rest of the building. There was no shadowy Bonnie present but it was obvious that this was its doing.

“H-help…. help…” Face pale as her surroundings Kyle felt fear ride up inside her. The suit was slowly, painfully, craning its head up to her. The eyes were empty sockets with thin, tear-like, trails of raid seeping out. Blood dripped out from its large mouth as it choked words out that stabbed at Kyle like a knife, “It hurts…”

Kyle backed away as the morbid creature shambled its way towards her, arm reaching out to grab hold. Kyle seemingly lost her words again, horror had stolen them away. The creature shook as it slogged its way forward, like it was barely able to stand. Kyle felt sickened as the sound of flesh being torn occurred with each step the creature took. More blood seeped out of the suit’s torso, face, and legs. It was like staring at a walking horror show.

The blood stained ursine tried to speak again but all that came out was garbled, bloodied, chokes. Its hand reached out farther forward, Kyle watched as the suit degraded before her eyes. The covering became worn at the edges, small holes dotted the suit, and the false fur lost its shiny appearance leaving it dingy. As Kyle backed into the heavy door behind her the suit ear gave an audible crack and went slack. Slowly the wires tore apart and it fell to the floor. The sickening sight of what was now virtually a rotting corpse caused Kyle to shake her head, silently begging the thing to not get any nearer.

“R-run…Leave-Stay away!” The creatures voice suddenly became much clearer, so much so that it was startling. Kyle was more than happy to comply with the being’s demand and turned herself around to push open the door. As she moved to open it the door flung itself open sending Kyle face first onto the floor outside the back room. 

Scrambling to her feet Kyle ran away from the bleeding monster. Looking over her shoulder Kyle was surprised to see the room was longer there. The occurrence got her to stop and stare at the poster covered wall, side by side were posters of Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, and Chica each reading a simple phrase such as “Let’s Party!”. Kyle blinked and looked forward, much to her continued bewilderment she was in the main party room. Any relief gained from being separated from the golden suit was immediately eradicated when she saw who was waiting for her. Lined in front of her was four mascot animatronics, all of them staring right at her. Plastic eyes replaced by the empty dark holes, not even a pinprick of light were present.

For a moment Kyle almost thought the animatronics weren’t going to do anything aside from stare. Then she heard a faint dripping noise. Looking down she saw drops of red splatting onto the checkered floor. At first it was one or two at a time but then more steadily blood dripped down onto the ground, creating small pools. From each of their hanging mouths the quartet were dripping blood. From their torsos blood seeped out like it had from the Golden Freddy suit in the back room.

Then, they spoke in a chorus of tortured choked cries. The voices all came at once; Kyle couldn’t tell who was saying what. It was like one voice was saying multiple things at the same time.

“Why? It-It hurts…so much. What did I do? He lied to me…It hurts! Everything hurts! Why…why did he…I just wanted to see Fredbear…HE KILLED MY SISTER! Brother where are you...? I’m scared. It hurts. Why isn’t anyone helping us? Why? Why won’t they stop him!? I want my Mom and Dad…Why aren’t they listening!? I want to go home! I can’t stand it…the pain. Why…Help us. Stop him. Help us. So much pain. SAVE US!”

They were moving towards her now. Slow and shambling like the living dead, even Foxy was moving sluggishly. With each joint movement, each shake, blood oozed and dripped out of them. Kyle covered her mouth, afraid to make a noise in their presence. Slowly she moved away, keeping out of their reach. Kyle jumped back as Freddy made a mad swipe for her, that was more than enough to get the guard to pick up the pace. Kyle turn and ran towards the building’s exit. She’d only made it a few feet away when something grabbed at her ankle making her trip and fall.

Kyle was only stunned for a moment when desperation to get away from the shambling monsters kicked back in. She kicked her leg and tried to pull away. A familiar radio-like cry got her to look at what was holding her leg hostage. It was Mangle, or some amalgamation of parts stuck together with the fox’s two heads stuck on. The toddler play toy animatronic was just like the others, empty soulless eyes, and blood driveling out of its two mouth like some twisted version of salivation. 

“Why…? Why…? Why did he do this to me? The knife hurt so much…” The twisted animatronic choked out as it dragged itself forward with one blood stained white paw.

“I want to go home…” Wept another voice. After shaking her leg free from Mangle’s grip Kyle quickly backed away and spotted the source of the other voice. It was Balloon Boy, and the twisted appearance it shared with the others looked far creepier on it. The more human appearance of the animatronic made her think of real bleeding child. The permanent grin it bore was off putting as drops of blood seeped from its hollowed out eyes.

Kyle grabbed her face and let out a startled cry as an image of Golden Freddy flashed before her face. Her head hurt like something was pounding on her temples.

“They were made examples of.” Kyle whirled around and before her stood Puppet. The smiling animatronic seemed to be scowling down at her. The purple painted tear streaks were stained crimson with the blood coming from its eyes. Unlike the others the dried blood stained the top part of its mask. The mask itself was cracked and broken inward towards the top, like something had punched it in.

Kyle flinched in pain as a vision of the golden animatronic flashed before her again. This time with a weak, “Leave…” and a whining ringing in her ears.

“No one listened. For so long we suffered.” The marionette animatronic’s voice seem so forlorn, but quickly turned hostile, glaring at Kyle with hatred, “Now, you’ll die like the rest…”

Kyle wasted no time in bolting away from the animatronic ringleader, even going as far as pushing the thin bot aside. Puppet was unfazed by this as the animatronics moved in on the guard. Kyle couldn’t see it but she could hear the creatures were moving in faster than had been prior. Once again the pain assaulted her, her head feeling like a blister was forming inside her mind as the golden bear’s face appeared in her vision.

“Don’t, don’t come back. Stay away. Please…”

“You can’t.”

Kyle stopped dead in her tracks. The entrance was gone, in a flash it had been replaced by darkness and before Kyle was a more twisted version of the shadow Bonnie. Half of its left ear was missing and the top section of its right ear’s metal was exposed. It’s mouth covering was worn away leaving a gleeful grin of sharp teeth. Edge of its eyes was worn and cracked as it stared down at Kyle. There was a cracking noise as its fingers twitched uncontrollably before huge, metal talons erupted out from the fingers. Kyle only got a moment to stare in horror before the nightmare animatronic shoved all ten claws into her abdomen.

Pain exploded from her stomach as the claws tore through muscle, organs, and bone. Her blood coated the creatures claws as it sprayed out. The creature pulled her in, looming its head over her. It wanted to watch her die on its claws with that big and sharp-toothed grin in her view. It’s pitch black mouth opened wider to display a sneering grin of human teeth inside.

Kyle gagged as the monster slowly pulled one of its huge sets of claws out of her shredded abdomen. The nightmarish bunny raised its bloodied claw and splayed the fingers out, sending droplets of blood down onto Kyle, poised to strike again. She could only watch in absolute horror as the creature gave a deep throaty laugh at her imminent demise. Things began going hazy as the claws came down and skewered themselves into her neck. Blood streamed out the back of the wounds…seeped out the sides of her mouth…its eyes burned into hers as everything start to go black-

“Hey, wake up!”

Kyle’s eyes flew open and she found herself in her room. She shook her head the fear she’d felt in that nightmare readily fading away. The brunette woman looked around for who’d woken her up, the voice had seemed familiar. Instead of Jessica she saw Mike standing at her bedside with a look of vague concern. For a moment she stared at him, wondering why the man was in her home. With a blink she quickly recalled that she’d allowed him to stay over after his panic attack at Freddy’s. 

She sighed gratefully and rubbed her hands on her forehead, rubbing off the thin layer of cold sweat. Mike said nothing and waited for his coworker to recover. Kyle pulled herself up to a sitting position and tossed off her comfy dark metallic grey comforter. Dressed in dark blue night shorts and short sleeved shirt, Kyle sat with her elbows on her knees as she looked up at Mike, “Where’s Jessica at?”

“Went out.” Mike answered, nodding his head towards the front door. He crossed his arms laxly across his chest as he continued, “Said she needed to restock on groceries. Meeting up with family…” The man held and awkward pause for a short moment, “and a bunch of art stuff that I can’t even remember all of it.”

Kyle gave a short laugh as her nerves regathered, “Yeah, that’s Jess.” She shook her head, “Day off and she can’t sit still.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey shadow Bonnie made it into the story after all! And with a nightmare animatronic version too! Two for one on things I said wouldn't be added this time around!


	25. Save Them (part 2)

“You two get along?” Kyle asked as she looked to Mike. She was a little curious as how the meeting between her girlfriend and Mike would’ve gone. Jessica had been asleep by the time she made it back home after her shift, so she left a note for her. Didn’t need Jessica thinking that Mike was some guy that broken in. Though she figured she would’ve recognize his uniform, but better safe than sorry.

Mike took a seat at the end of the bed before he answered, “I woke up over an hour ago. She was in the kitchen making some weird tea and gave me a cup when she noticed I was awake.” The man wrinkled his nose, “Tasted weird, but she said it’d calm my nerves and it did help so I didn’t really complain. Got kind of awkward after that,” he shrugged, no way an odd way of meeting a person like that would’ve gone over smoothly least not to him, “then she left.”

“Sounds like she gave you some green tea.” Kyle stated as rubbed her tired eyes. Of course because of that nightmare she didn’t feel rested. Honestly she felt worn out and a tad sore. Kyle sighed, she could think of only one solution a night shift workers cure all, “But I could go for some coffee right now.”

She turned her head to her guest and asked, “Want some?”

“Sounds good to me. That green tea made me want to go back to sleep.” Mike answered as he rubbed the side of his face. He watched Kyle as she headed for the open doorway, with a grunt he got up and followed her out, “Can have a cup as I explain things.”

“I’ll get the coffee maker going then.” Kyle responded normally as she went into the kitchen. As she began making the coffee Mike went and took a seat at the kitchen table. Soon enough the red coffee maker began producing a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Kyle looked over to Mike and briskly examined him, he looked more collected than she last recalled but barely less worn out. Their conditions were similar, but she felt Mike had it worse due to his episode last night. Yet she got the feeling Mike was more used to it than she. Soon the coffee maker gurgled signaling the coffee was about done. Kyle looked to the steaming mug and asked Mike, “Want any cream, sugar, or do you want me to leave it black?”

“Some cream will do.” Mike answered. Kyle poured some milky caramel creamer into the cup, stirred, and then handed the mug off to the other guard. Mike gave a brief thanks and took a quick sip of the beverage. It was hot but he needed the wakeup call.

One more cup of coffee made and Kyle was sitting down across from Mike, appearing expectant. Mike took another drink and eyed her a bit, “So, where do you want me to start?”

“I have a lot of questions,” Kyle began, she stirred a spoon in her coffee making sure the cream and sugar was properly mixed in. Mike gave an expectant grunt and she looked to him, anxiety simmering just below the surface of her complexion, her voice started off tense but built in volume as she continued speaking, “but first. I want to know what the hell is up with those things. Why are they trying so bad to kill us? How the fuck are they even moving on their own at all? It can’t be some glitch!”

Mike let her finish her little rant, knowing well her emotions weren’t aimed at him, before simply saying, “Your right, it isn’t a glitch.”

Having expected more to his answer Kyle pressed for more, “Then what is it?”

The veteran guard looked at his coffee, took a drink, and gave a thoughtful hum before looking back to his coworker. His gaze turned somewhat stern and his voice reflected this, “I’ll ask you again to be open minded on this.”

When Kyle gave an affirming nod Mike sat back in his chair. He exhaled tiredly, this was going to be a long and draining conversation. He took one more drink from his coffee, the pleasantly hot liquid soothing him enough to begin, “You remember the incidents tied to the franchise right? The missing kids.”

Kyle felt unease settle into the air as a thought took its place in her mind. The brunette had a bad idea of where Mike was going with this. She frowned, slowly answering, “Yeah…”

Mike could tell she was getting what he was alluding to, but also knew he was going to have to say it himself. It was understandable, this wasn’t something he had believed in prior to working at Freddy’s either. It was an outlandish thing to think and an utterly horrible thought to actually be true. Mike wondered if Kyle would actually trust what he was going to tell her as the truth. She had seen what happened in the pizzeria at night, been through the terrifying nightmare inducing ordeal. Twice now in fact. At the least Mike figured that his coworker could at least be persuaded to not think he wasn’t insane. 

“The missing,” a second after Mike irately corrected himself, “dead children’s ghosts are possessing that animatronics and have been since their murders.”

Kyle stared at Mike, not in the manner suggesting she thought he was crazy but in silent horror. Her nightmare resurfaced in her mind, its presence in her thoughts strong as though it had actually happened. The child in the hall with that dementedly grinning Bonnie look-alike. The the words of the animatronics repeated in her head and a cold sense of dread settled inside her. She wondered, why would her dream mean anything? Kyle gripped her mug with both hands, conflicting thoughts fighting in her mind. A dream is a dream, right? At the same time, it was too coincidental. She had no way of suspecting that from her shifts. Kyle was left anxiously undecided; she didn’t know what to make of this but she felt horrible nonetheless. 

“You had a nightmare, am I right?” Mike asked suddenly, pulling Kyle from her internal conflict. Seeing the surprised look on Kyle’s face confirmed Mike’s suspicion and he felt a pang of sympathy dart through him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he recalled the various nightmares he’d had over the years. Kyle stumbled to ask him how he knew so Mike went on to explain, “I’ve had plenty of my own over the past years. Some worse than others, but all of them about the animatronics.” 

“Yeah…I was at a Freddy’s, not ours a different one.” Kyle began. Mike took a drink from his coffee, seeing the attentive look on his face she continued, “I was in uniform…I think, I’m not sure. A show had started, and then I saw this girl in a hall with this weird Bonnie looking animatronic. It was…” Kyle thought a moment how to describe the entity but could only come up with one word, “shadowy…” Mike blinked when Kyle perked up, “it had five fingers and a real creepy grin.”

“Five?” Mike echoed curiously.

“Yeah, like the thing that appeared in the office when the tablet went haywire.” Kyle elaborated before taking a drink. Mike said nothing but seemed to be thinking about the detail as he gave a faint hum. Kyle frowned in discomfort as she went on to the more nightmarish part of the dream, “I followed the two to a backroom. Looked like a storage room of some sort…and I saw a golden Freddy suit.”

Kyle ran a hand through her hair, trying to settle her nerves, “There was blood everywhere…” Mike nodded in understanding as Kyle continued telling her nightmare, “It came to life and I ran out of the room. Then the other animatronics showed up and they were all bleeding…They were saying things.” Kyle shook her head in tired dismay, “I can’t remember what they all said, but I know they were in pain, and so…angry.”

“Then the shadow Bonnie showed up again…” Kyle covered her face not willing to give detail on how the creature shredded her, her stomach prickled and throat tensed as she envisioned the scene. Briskly Kyle wrapped up her retelling, “and then you woke me up.”

Mike could tell by how Kyle hid herself that the nightmare hadn’t ended pleasantly for her. It was no surprise Mike couldn’t recall how many times he’d woken up screaming, but he knew that it was more than needed for any one lifetime. What ways had he died in his sleep? Skull bitten in, torn apart, throat cut open, stuffed into a bear suit, and probably others he didn’t care to recall at the moment. Mike let a moment of silence settle to allow Kyle to recollect herself. It was an inward relief this situation, having a person share his pain. Misery loved company as they say. Upon reflection Mike found that sentiment to be somewhat pathetic, needing another to suffer with him to feel better. Yet, he couldn’t deny himself it. The man couldn’t just stop the nightmares from happening, otherwise he wouldn’t have endured them for thirty years, and after that long time alone company was something he’d quickly come to miss.

“I’ve had nightmares like that.” Mike said after a suitable pause. Kyle remained silent to let the man talk, looking at him from across the table. Mike took a long drink of his coffee and thought about his thirty years of self-inflicted solitude. “Except the only purple animatronic in my nightmares that had five fingers was a bear.” He thought about the entity that haunted his dreams and its seemingly ever present leer, “Seems to be like yours, all shadowy.” Something prodded at his mind but he couldn’t quiet pin it, “Maybe I saw your dark Bonnie…hard to tell from the regular one maybe. The animatronics at times are twisted, turned into monsters, in my dreams.”

Kyle nodded curtly in understanding. She looked across the table at the middle aged man, he seemed somberly thoughtful almost regretfully so. Her fingers tentatively fidgeted along the sides of her warm coffee mug, “Mike…how long have you had these nightmares?”

“How long ago was the last of the original Freddy’s?” Mike asked in turn.

Expression shocked Kyle’s mouth when partly slacked for a moment before she looked the man over, trying to figure out how in the world he was stable as he was. Thirty years of nightmares of the caliber she’d witness would’ve driven her mad. Yet somehow Mike was still functioning, damaged but functioning. Kyle still felt a strong sense of concern for him regardless and more so when she for a fact he’d been enduring panic attacks as well.

“Thirty years…” She said to herself in a hushed disbelieving voice. Kyle shook her head not wanting to believe that. “Mike how have you put up with this?” The younger guard questioned, trying to find an answer, “You’ve had someone with you right? I don’t know how-” She was stopped by a remorsefully bitter laugh.

“Ha-ha, no…No I haven’t.” Mike corrected with a shake of his head. He held his forehead as he gazed down at the table a remorseful grin on his face, “Don’t bother feeling bad, I know you are I can see it on your face. I saw it last night. Just…don’t bother, I did it to myself.”

Before she could question herself whether she should or not, Kyle slowly asked, “What do you mean?” 

Mike lifted his head up right, tears forming in the sides of his eyes, “I took that damn job to get money for me and my girl.” He frowned sadly remember the look of concern on his former love’s face when he first woke up screaming. It’d been shortly after he quit, Mike had thought that he was finally through with the nightmare but the terror had followed him home. He’d been foolish to think it was over. He’d had night terrors while working at the damned pizzeria. Yet, it only took a few days’ peace for the young him to let his guard down. Mike rubbed the tears out of his eyes, trying to compose himself, “But I pushed her away because I couldn’t bring myself to explain what’d I’d been through. Didn’t want her thinking I was crazy…So I ended up moving out of the apartment we shared, took to living in a cheap motel for a bit.”

“Want to know how I’m barely held together?” Mike asked rhetorically. He looked away seeming unsure himself. Mike shook his head again, “That’s just it. I’m not. I trudge through each day being just as miserable as I was on the last one. Comfort is something I gave up willingly, and I just deal with it.”

Kyle didn’t know what to say to what she’d just been told. Mike didn’t respond to her shell shocked staring and continued to drink the coffee she’d provided to him. Unable to think of anything she instead opted to move the conversation along and brought it back to the kids. Kyle spoke carefully, finding the words as she went along, “The kids…how did you find out?” 

Mike bristled, the question bringing up his final night at Freddy’s. He took a breath and began to explain, “On my last night I nearly died.” Not really meeting Kyle’s gaze, he didn’t need to see it to know what her expression would be, Mike motioned to his shoulder. “Fox had my shoulder by his hook. Nearly dragged me back to get shoved in a suit. By luck I caught it off guard and broke away. Then…”

Mike didn’t know how but on some impulse his body seemed to act on its own. He jerked back like a frightened animal, ignoring the screaming pain in his shoulder. The action wasn’t enough to throw Foxy off, but the following lashed out kick to the animatronic’s exposed knee joint was. Startled the pirate robot screeched and was sent tumbling down with Mike. Frantic and desperate Mike shoved the robot away while it was still bewildered. The action caused a yelp to fly from his mouth as the hook tore away some his shredded shoulder. Scrambling to his feet Mike shakily fumbled to grab his flashlight off the floor.

The sound of a building snarl behind him got him to snatch the flashlight right up. The young man hurried down the hall, the fox in the way of the quicker escape route. Not one but two animatronic shrieks sounded behind him encouraging Mike to reach the safety of the security office. The sudden speed, combined with all he’d endured during the night, Mike found himself unable to stop correctly and collided with the metal doorway of the office. Adrenalin pumping strongly through his veins Mike pushed himself forward. 

Right after he slammed his hand down on the door button. No sooner than the door came down Mike clicked the door light frantically, not caring or thinking about the energy reserves. He was leaving. Whatever minutes he had left were inconsequential. With Bonnie and Foxy hopefully stunned Mike let his flight instinct guide him out to the right hall. The guard didn’t falter when he saw Freddy and immediately shone the light on him. Mike continued to blind the bear as he slipped past him, somewhere in his frantic mind hoping that did something.

Chica wasn’t present in the main party room as Mike rushed into to it. The guard didn’t stop to look around as he practically flew past the neatly kept party tables. By the time he reached the wall on the far end of the main party room Mike’s lungs were beginning to burn and the pain in his shoulder was making his unfocused mind hazier. With the prevailing thought of escape still loudly chanting inside him Mike pushed onward.

The sounds of his own panting breaths filled his ears, the smell of blood clung to his nostrils. He held an arm out to the wall, using it to steady his balance. His hand pushed along colored pictures, bare wall, and posters. The panic built up in his chest lightened just barely as he spotted the corner that rounded to the building’s entrance. Mike picked up the pace again and moved quickly towards his path to safety. Behind him the animatronics were beginning to move again, this served to bring Mike’s panic back to full tilt.

A hopeful smile came and went as it was replaced with a look of horror once Mike’s eyes were met with the sight of a poster that hung on the wall. At the moment the young man couldn’t recall what it had been once but it was now replaced with a ghastly image. It was a child whose eyes were round with fear, streams of tears running down its face, and mouth open in silent wail. All that was shown was the child’s terrified face the rest of the poster was black. The eyes stared out at Mike, distress emanating from the gaze like it was pleading for him to do something. Mike stared back with rivaling fear, his gaze seemingly locked with the poster’s.

Freddy’s song chimed through the air and Mike broke eye contact with the poster, fleeing to the hall. Turning into the hall that lead to the entrance Mike tried to focus on escape. All of the posters that had greeted costumers had been replaced with crying child, the same as the first. The sound of crying began working its way into his ears, and with each poster he passed another cry companied it. One, then two, then three, until a chorus of seven was reached.

Tears were sliding down Mike’s cheeks by the time he reached the entrance, the sound was maddening. Then he spotted the source of two of the cries and Mike went still. In front of the doors was three figures. Their skin was pale, outlines faded, with deep black hole in place of their eyes. It was like looking at real life versions of the posters, tears running down their cheeks. Various wounds were marring their forms but Mike could hardly look at anything but their faces. The two crying were hiding behind one that was between them, they seemed fearful of Mike’s presence. 

The one in the center had tears coming down the sides of his face as well, but he wasn’t sobbing. He looked at Mike with a cold gaze that bore into him that was paired with a sullen frown. It was hard for the young adult not to notice the chunk missing from his forehead, yet the details seemed to be shrouded in darkness. He was smaller than the two others but held much stronger presence beyond the years that his appearance suggested.

An animatronic wail from his side caused Mike to jump and look towards it. Golden Freddy lunged from the shadows, jaw wide open for a bite, and hands ready to hold the guard still. Mike bolted from his spot, a snap ringing from behind him. He swallowed his fear and ran right through the ghost children, a wave of icy cold rushing through him as he did so. 

Mike fought with the door lock as he uttered frightened gibberish to himself, the key seeming to refuse to fit into the slot. His heart soared when he finally unlocked the door and pushed it open. A grab at his pants leg jerked his heart right back down into terror. Mike, shaking, looked downward and saw one of the sobbing children was clinging to his leg. 

“Please help us…” 

He stared down at the child, the reason for the hellish working condition seeming to make sense now. The animatronic’s behavior and his torment were all because of the incidents. Despite this clarity and despite the begging expression of the child…Mike could not bring to shed his fear and he ran from the pizzeria.

“I was a coward…” Mike finished, hands clenched on the table to the point his knuckles where white. Disgust towards himself evident on his face, jaw tightly set coupled with a scowling expression. He glared down the table, tone ridged, “I only thought of myself and ran away and it’s haunted me ever since.”

“Mike I don’t think most people would stick it out.” Kyle reasoned, trying to give the man some reassurance. She was startled when her effort resulted in Mike yelling.

“It doesn’t what most would do!” Mike’s anger quickly died away into sadness and he hung his head, “Their just kids…th-their just kids…and I left them in that place.”

“So that’s why you really came back.” Kyle said softly with saddened realization. She could see tears on the man’s face, resulting in a twinge of empathy from herself.

“Yes,” Mike answered. He straightened himself, feeling some relief from finally sharing his experience with someone after so long. The conversation was proving to be therapeutic to him. Mike looked up to Kyle, “But I was being honest when I told you I wanted to keep guards from dying.” He frowned thinking about his interview, “I had to tell get Gregor to put me on shift with you. Moron doesn’t seem to care about what’s going on. Reminds me of the old manager Jones.”

Kyle gave an unsurprised scoff, “Sounds about right.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, can I use your cell? Mine died and I need to make sure that bastard puts us on the same shift…” Mike stopped speaking when he realized he was assuming she’d still go back to the hellhole. “If you’re going to keep going suffering with me.”

The woman looked at him then gave a weak smile, “I told you I was sticking around for the same reason. And now, I know they need help…” Kyle’s voice drifted off for a bit before she asked, “Any idea of how to save them?”

“That’s a work in progress…” Mike answered grimly. Inwardly he was relieved and at the same time apprehensive about Kyle sticking with him. He finished off his coffee then continued, “My guess is they need to be properly laid to rest. Issue is…”

“Their bodies were never found.” Kyle finished, getting a nod from Mike. She ran a hand through her hair, mind trying to wrap around her situation, “We’re trying to solve a case thirty years cold.” With a blink Kyle suddenly got up from her seat, “Oh yeah! You wanted to use my cell,” the woman shook her head, embarrassed by the lack of focus, “sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a lot to take in I know.” Mike said, dismissing the apology, as he watched Kyle head off to find her cellphone. 

“Help yourself to something to eat if you want!” Kyle called back to him. 

Mike looked towards the fridge. Food sound good right about now.


	26. Noteworthy (part1)

It was two pm currently, the pizzeria had been open for several hours now, and head of security Gregor was sitting in his office. He sat looking at the security cameras, he’d already looked through the footage from the previous night. It’d been obvious by the lack of blood or stuffed suits that Kyle and Mike had made it out alright. That was relief for him, no need to pay Karen extra money. Now with two guards working the night shift there was a possibility of him having to pay for two cover ups. A thought which made his bank account cringe in fear. Three fifty for one body meant a grand total of seven hundred right from his bank. He figured the old owner either knew people who were or, at one point, had been rich.

During his shift, Gregor had also deleted all the saved recordings from the previous nights to further leave no evidence of what was going on. From what he’d seen it’d been a frightful night, he could hardly believe the coordination the animatronics had pulled off. Coordination that only happened after the Puppet had gotten loose. Perhaps he could run ideas by Clifton to get the music box to run throughout the night. Yes, that would work. If the music box didn’t stop then the guards would only have to worry about the other six.

The guard set the tablet down, not much to keep watch on today. Clouds outside where heavy and dark, they were in for a mean storm tonight, as such the business was notably slower today. This was fine for the moment though, that gave him time to look over the workbook that Karen had dropped off. He looked over to the worn, old, small, notebook lying beside the office phone. Gregor picked it up, looking it over in his hands. It was just a typical black notebook, frayed at the edges and dog-eared at the top corner. Most notable thing was the name written on the front “Bernie Cawthon”.

Gregor tumbled the name around in his head for a while when it had a familiar ring to it. He blinked once his recalled why that was, He was the previous head of security for Freddy Fazbear’s. Name is different but Karen did mention her mother changed their names back to her maiden name.

That little question taken care of the current head of security began to look through the old pages in the notebook. At first he just flipped through them to get an idea if the contents were organized. Thankfully the sections on the animatronics were labeled. The notebook namely consisted of journal entries on how the night went. He noted that the last night entry was written in an anxious and fearful manner. The hand writing looking sloppier and more hastily written than in the previous ones. Last thing written was to make a recording for the then current night guard Mike Schmidt. Previous sentences made mentions of the animatronics looking at the cameras before twelve am as well as faintly hearing the Puppet’s music box. Bernie made mention that it was impossible as the animatronic had been locked away. The man had apparently chalked it up to paranoia just before making note to leave the recorded message.

This must have been his last night before going “missing”. Gregor thought to himself as he went back to reading what was written about the animatronics. He skipped over reading about toy Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica as they didn’t have them. Aside from that what he glimpsed over said they basically acted the same. Instead he flipped to Foxy as the info he had on him was incomplete. What he found was that he needed to be watched vigilantly. He continued to read through, checking each animatronic, before coming to the section on Balloon Boy. Briefly Gregor considered skipping the animatronic but seeing that the boy robot actually had a section decided otherwise. Gregor frowned at the description of the animatronic’s strange ability.

The last animatronic entry Gregor read was Puppet’s. Hopefully there was something else that could keep the gift giver away, or at least deter it. Unfortunately, there was nothing other than the music box. Lights didn’t deter it and masks didn’t fool it.

“The message tonight is going to be notable…” Gregor muttered to himself just under his breath. He flipped through more of the notebook and paused at recounting of a golden bear animatronic that appeared at random. The animatronic was dubbed “Golden Freddy” and was more of a phantom than an actual animatronic. There was no explanation given by Bernie for the apparition’s existence. Bernie himself hadn’t seemed to have encountered the phantom himself other than glimpses.

As Gregor looked through the notebook more he began to read through the journal entries. The entries seemed to have begun after his run in with the animatronics himself. Occasionally Bernie made vague references to his coworkers. Gregor noted that at one point he mentioned “the two owners”. This peaked the guard’s interest, he recalled reading something about that…He rubbed his forehead trying to recall. Another unfulfilling restless night had once more left him tired. Gregor grumbled to himself about checking in on that again later.

Gregor bristled as a shrill animatronic shriek echoed in his mind. He sat up straight and glanced around, he settled some as he realized it was only in his mind. Gregor shook his head and focused back on the notebook. The more he read the more he realized that Bernie hardly ever referred to anyone else by name aside from his daughter Nataly, which he assumed was Karen’s former first name. Occasionally he mentioned his wife, Marin, by name as well. Once or twice he mentioned the manager of the last Freddy’s, Jones. One interesting incident caught Gregor’s eye though, a scratched out name for another guard. After looking at the scribble he made out what looked to be a “D”.

The guard only got a moment to ponder this when the office phone went off. Still eyeing the page Gregor answered the phone, “Hello, hello, this is Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria’s security office.”

“It’s me Mike.” 

Gregor glanced at the phone he was holding and put down the notebook. He got the sense that trying to skim read more would be useless while talking to the night shift guard. Gregor tried to think of what the guard was calling about, to better prepare for the conversation, as he asked, “What’s this call about? Did something happen last night?”

“Other than what you’ve probably seen? No not much.” Mike answered dully.

“Then what’s this call for?” Gregor asked as he turned to the tablet and flipped through the cameras.

“What’s tonight’s shift?”

The head of security was slightly surprised by the question but went along with it. He thought for a moment then recalled the guard scheduled for the night. Gregor answered as he checked in on the stage, “Tonight you’ll be with another guard Harriet.”

“Change it.”

“What?” Gregor questioned in surprise.

“The weekends are even worse. I can’t be stuck with someone who’ll flip out, it’ll just get us both killed.” Mike explained sounding almost annoyed that he had to explain. He huffed, “And you need me alive. Keep me and Kyle on for the weekends. I’ll give the other new guys a run down during the start of next week.”

Gregor frowned at the demanding tone Mike was giving him, but didn’t deny he had a good point. He tapped his finger on the desk, he was going to need to call Harriet and Leroy. That was going to be tedious. Gregor let out a rough sigh, “Very well. I’m assuming Kyle is aware of this?”

“She is.” Mike answered.

“Good. I’ll get the schedule straightened out.” Glancing at the notebook Gregor went on, “I got the information about the animatronics in. Would it be better to tell you now or through a recording?”

“Now would be better. They’ll be active immediately tonight.”

“Alright, I guess you’re already well acquainted the four main ones.” Hearing an acknowledging grunt Gregor took that as a yes. “Other than the apparent wall crawling Mangle has a cry that draws in the others.”

“Know that already, anything else?”

“Balloon Boy isn’t harmless as I thought he was.” Gregor went on to say.

“Knew it.” Mike grunted before giving an unhappy grumble, “What does he do then?”

“He affects light sources, disabling their use. In other words, he keeps lights from being turned on if he gets close enough.” Gregor explained as he continued to flip through the cameras. With not much going on there wasn’t much to check on though.

“How close exactly does he need to be?” Mike asked, sounding more tense than before.

“From what I read, inside the office.” Gregor answered. He arched a brow as he spotted a kid with the Chica cap come in with what looked to be two teenagers. Hadn’t that been the kid who told him the Puppet was mad at him? When Mike spoke again Gregor turned his focus back to him.

“Figures,” Mike muttered. “Anything else?”

“Yes, I’m afraid that flashlights and masks don’t fool the Puppet.” Gregor explained, eyes scanning what he saw on the tablet screen. He heard Mike utter a quiet “dammit”. Gregor thought for a bit, wondering something, before deciding to check, “There’s something I want to ask, do you know about Golden Freddy?”

There was a moment of silence before Mike answered with a tense stiffness, “Don’t worry about that. I know how to deal with it. Just get the schedule adjusted, I’ll handle the rest.” 

After that, Mike hung up leaving Gregor holding a disconnected phone. He looked at it for a moment before hanging it up. With a new task to be done Gregor got up from the desk, stretched his back a bit, and headed out of the office. The guard stalled for a moment when he heard a familiar voice speak up.

“It’s the security guard!”

Gregor turned his head and spotted Ethan with the two teenagers he’d spotted from the security cameras. He looked down to the young boy, “So it is you from yesterday.” He glanced about for his mother, “Where’s your Mom?”

A huff from the teenage girl of the group brought the security guard’s attention to her, “She’s always working. Dad left so she’s working double time for us. I’m babysitting.” The apparent sibling grumbled, ignoring a whine of protest from Ethan.

“I’m not a baby…” He pouted with his arms crossed.

“Sure did a lot of whining about coming here for not being a baby…” Gregor caught the partial mumble from the elder sibling as she looked away. The guard looked from one sibling to another feeling silenced by the sudden family tension. This was not one of his specialties to deal with.

“Well it was boring at home and you wouldn’t let me go outside!” Ethan snapped having caught his sister’s words.

“That’s because of the storm.” His sister droned with a roll of her eyes. Gregor looked to her, she looked like a rather typical teen. One who would rather be on social media or hanging out with her friends than be stuck with a younger sibling. Speaking of rather being with friends Gregor suspected the other teenager was a friend or possibly boyfriend. 

Ethan muttered something to himself in retort that Gregor didn’t bother trying to pick up on. He had work to do. Gregor gave a nod, not to what had been said but just to signal his departure, “I’ve got work to do. Our manager isn’t in so I’ve got a dual role to play. Fun Time Foxy should be telling a story soon if you’re interested.”

His words for Ethan of course, but he decided to leave out his name to avoid things getting odd. Gregor turned and left heading down the hall and into the main party room. He checked the room over briefly before heading to management’s office. As he entered the back all Gregor stopped when he heard someone hurrying over to him. His initial thought was that something had happened, something needing his attention, but seeing the teenage boy Gregor began to think otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who think they know what "D" stands for, your likely close. To be clear though, it's only a reference to the book. The character himself is not like the book character, not exactly anyway. For more read "Harmless Beginning".


	27. Noteworthy (part2)

“Yes? Do you need something?” He asked evenly.

“I gotta ask,” at that moment Gregor knew where this was going, “is the place like actually haunted like the other one’s were?”

The guard felt a pang of annoyance but denied the question readily, “No the pizzeria isn’t haunted. Now if you don’t mind-” Gregor didn’t get to leave when the teenager interrupted.

“What about the missing kids? The guards from the old pizzerias? Then there was that one guy from Fazbear’s Fright?” The teen was persistent and had obviously looked into the pizzeria’s background. He seemed a little excited to try and get answers too. His voice didn’t hold an accusatory tone either. One was one of those people who were enticed by the pizzeria’s dark past. Wanting to know the secrets behind the well apparent tragedies, a form of entertainment almost to him.

Gregor felt he might need to keep a bit of an eye on him, and others like him. If they got any evidence of supernatural he’d have a hell of a time getting rid of them. As such he continued to deny, though his response did have some truth, “I was a child at the time when that was going on. I don’t know any more than anyone else. I just work here.”

With that he left the teenager in the hall and entered the staff lounge. While only a “staff only” sign on the door separated them the teenager and him the boy made no further attempts to follow him. Now at the manager’s desk Gregor decided to make a call, not to Harriet or Leroy but to Herald. He was surprise when the call was actually picked up, “Herald it’s Gregor, what’s going on?”

“Herald isn’t able to speak right now.” A woman’s voice, Herald’s wife. Gregor didn’t interrupt and allowed her to continue speaking, “I’m his wife, Bethany. Herald isn’t well, I’m honestly getting worried. He hasn’t been sleeping very well and he woke up screaming last night. I’ve caught him staring at nothing and he’s fainted a couple of times.”

“I’m sorry to hear that…” Gregor apologized, though he didn’t sound as worried as she should have. This meant he’d unlikely be able to check on where the money was going. Herald was a man who did his work personally, there was a very slim chance Bethany had access to the company money. This was more of a relief to him. Gregor; however, did feel some concern as to what was causing this. With some hesitation he asked, “Do you…have any idea what’s causing this?”

Bethany seemed reluctant but, with patience, Gregor received an answer from his boss’s wife, “Well, last night, he woke up frantic and screaming.” Gregor could hear the concern welling up in her voice. “It was like he was trying to run from something. Then he said something odd…It was like a name of sort.”

“What name?” Gregor questioned, though he had a bad feeling of what it was. He looked over towards wall behind him, the one connected to the sealed up safe room. Under the desk his foot tapped hurriedly as Herald’s wife worked to recall the name.

“It was an odd name. Springtrap I believe. Yes, that’s it.” Bethany answered, sounding a bit pleased she was able to recall the name. Gregor tensed and looked at the wall more intently. His lack of immediate response allowed Herald’s wife to ask a question of her own, “Do you have any idea what the name refers to? It sounds like the old Spring Bonnie character from the Golden Era, as he calls it. Back when the place Fredbear’s family diner was open.” 

Gregor was distracted as she spoke, his mind focusing on the wall behind him, “Uh, no I don’t…I’m afraid I don’t know what he’s referring to…”

Nightmares were causing Herald to lose it? He’s had nightmares of that rotting carcass of an animatronic. Did that mean his mind was in jeopardy? He hadn’t been hallucinating the monster while awake though, as Herald seemed to be. That was one thing off his mind, for now at least. Gregor suddenly felt uncomfortable in the seat and stood up, eyeing the wall. How? How was this happening? Was it because they’d seen it? Was it because it was possessed? Both? Was this thing doing it on purpose, if so why wasn’t he suffering as bad as Herald? Clifton didn’t seem to be afflicted either, or not nearly bad as even Gregor himself.

He didn’t like this. Gregor snapped himself when he felt his hand clenching down on his shoulder. His body was giving a slight shake causing him to grip down harder as he realized. He hadn’t done this since he was a-Gregor’s train of thought came to a screeching halt when Bethany’s voice yanked him off it.

“Hello? Are you there?” She questioned, sounding confused.

“Yes I am, sorry. I’ve been having to manage everything. I’m just worried what we’ll do without Herald.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but at the same time Gregor felt he could handle things for as long as needed. It was better, less risk of Herald seeing something the man didn’t need to. Without him around Gregor could keep things under wraps.

Bethany gave a simple laugh in response, “I was just asking that. Herald wanted me to ask if you could handle the business while he was away.”

Gregor’s posture eased up, “Yes I can manage. Is there anything he needs me to do?”

“Everything you need to manage the place finically has been sent through email to the work computer. Should be instructions in it, I’d be no good at explaining that.” Bethany explained, sound a tad embarrassed about her lack of knowledge.

An unenthused murmur came from Gregor as he sat back down on the desk chair. With one hand he accessed the computer while still holding onto the phone. After a few clicks and a couple typed in passwords Gregor located the email. He began looking it over as he let Herald’s wife he located it, “I’ve found the email. Let Herald know that’ll take care of everything.”

“Good, good!” Bethany chattered approvingly. She breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s a relief. This project means a lot to Herald.” Gregor partly began to tune her out as he looked through the email. He already knew the reason his boss bought up Freddy’s. Still he allowed her to prattle on, let her think he was listening, “You may not know this, but we’re not able to have children of our own. With Herald always having been busy trying to hold up to his father’s standards we decided it’d best we didn’t adopt…So, this is a way to fill the void I suppose and Herald truly does believe it could be a big success if given a second chance.” A brief pause, whether to regather emotional nerves or merely though Gregor wasn’t sure. “How are things going by the way? I’m sure my husband would want to know.”

“With the weather being the way it is today things are slower than usual, but otherwise business has been going well.” Gregor answered nearly offhandedly as his focus stayed on reading what the computer screen displayed. Spotting the time in the corner of the screen reminded Gregor that he had tasks to do. Time to end this conversation. “Bethany, I have work to get to. Do you have anything else you need to say?”

“No, I believe that’s all of it. I’ll leave you to your work, have a good day.” Bethany said kindly over the phone.

“Same to you.” Gregor responded, thought his tone lacked any genuine caring. The call disconnected and the head of security placed the phone onto its charging base. Before he began calling about the rescheduling Gregor set to work reordering the guards in the computer. For a moment he sat there wondering how to go about this. A few moments of silence ticked by and Gregor came to the conclusion that Mike would need to be put on every day of the week. At least until he could be certain Kyle, Leroy, and Harriet could handle the animatronics on their own. 

Might as well have him be the night shift supervisor…Gregor thought to himself dully. He wasn’t actually going to do this though, wasn’t any such position. Fingers dancing on the keyboard Gregor began inputting the new schedule. First he put Kyle on the Friday through Sunday with Mike. Leroy was placed on Monday and Wednesday; the man had seemed fidgety when he’d interviewed him. A sign he’d handle what was in store for him less than Harriet, who he placed on Tuesday and Thursday.

“There.” Gregor muttered to himself, satisfied with what he’d come up with. Briefly he mulled over who to call first, Kyle he didn’t need to call. That left Leroy and Harriette. Gregor picked up and decided to call Harriette, as she had originally been scheduled for tonight. The guard punched in the number and began speaking once the call was picked up, “Hello Harriette Lowell, this is Gregor Scott. I’ve called to inform you that there has been a change in the schedule.” 

A woman’s voice spoke over the phone, a mix of confusion and something else Gregor couldn’t pin. “Can I ask what for?” She asked.

It only to a moment for Gregor to come up with an excuse, “We hired someone on who is experienced with the equipment. He’s from the last Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria and he’ll be helping train you and the other guards. As I saw you didn’t have any training. This is just a precaution. Think of him a supervisor.”

Silence and then a long sigh, “Alright fine, this is a secondary job anyway.”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Gregor said, ignoring the annoyance, she’d been clear about it being a second job for extra money during the interview. So long as she cooperated he’d put up with bad tones. “Your shift is on Tuesday. Same time, starts at twelves am ends at six. Mike will be there to meet you. Then your next shift is on Thursday.”

“Alright, got it.” Harriette said in a snippy manner. She huffed, blowing some steam off seemingly, as her voice dropped to a calmer tone, “Alright, I’ll be there.”

Shortly after there was a beep and the call was dropped. Unfazed Gregor moved onto calling Leroy. As he punched in the numbers Gregor’s expression crinkled, he gripped his brows as feelings of splinters stabbed into his mind. It was a feeling of small things stabbing in with finely rough points. For a moment his mind hazed causing him to dip forward before he reflexively jerked back, alarmed. The guard swiveled his head from left to right.

Had he just heard something? He thought he’d heard a creaking. His grey eyes shifted about, but he saw nothing…

 

Harriette Lowell grumbled with an irate huff as she sat down on her bed. Muttering barely audible words to herself as she rubbed circles into her temples with her fingers, massaging her dark skin. With a long sigh she settled herself and brushed her well-kept dreadlocks off her shoulders. Repeatedly Harriette told herself to calm down, this was just a hitch, a little hiccup. All she had to do was wait for a little longer. In fact, this gave herself more time to plan. Yes, this thought calmed her.

The woman got up from her bed and headed over to an old dresser that was probably far older than the relatively new home she lived in. On top of it sat an old family photo. She was much younger in the photo with her three brothers, two younger and one older, and her two parents. Then there was her uncle…He was the tallest man in the photo, yet thin, and dressed in a Freddy Fazbear uniform. Her late uncle, Frits Smith.

Harriette lightly bit down on her lips, feeling an old wound reopen. Old memories resurfaced that urged forth tears. How could anyone every actually believe that he’d-he’d ever…Harriette shook her head and forced herself away from the photo. Her nerves steeled as she reminded herself of why she’d applied for that horrid place. To get it shut down.

If the rumors were true, then she’d have evidence to use against the company. If not, then she’d find another way. Harriette was willing to do anything to shut down the place that had caused her family so much pain, and pain to many others as well…


	28. Night Six (part1)

Kyle sat in the driver’s seat of the car, as she drove Mike and herself to their torturous place of work. Above a crack of thunder erupted from the dark grey, heavy storm clouds which dominated the sky. The entire town was blanketed by the sheer force of nature and not a single hole could be spotted in the raging storm clouds. Far as the eye could see the sky was black with occasional flashes of lighting. The wind was howling, pushing hard on the side of her car, seemingly in effort to topple it over. Kyle could just barely hear the car’s windshield wipers pushing off the large rain droplets that pelted the glass pane in front of her. The effort seemed to be nearly vain as the storm was unrelenting in its downpour, but it was enough that she could still see where she was going. 

“Geez, been a while since I’ve seen a storm like this…” Kyle said to her coworker, who was fiddling with the radio volume. Mike had ended up staying at her house for the day. By the time they’d woken up it’d been past noon, nearly two thirty pm. Mike’s car was still at Freddy’s and both of them had a mutual agreement to only return to the place if need be. So the two spent their time looking into Fazbear Entertainment’s past. 

Kyle gave a dry laugh as Mike got the music to a volume above the howling wind, “Heh, fitting considering where we’re going right?”

“If you want to call it that…” Mike responded, pale blue eyes examining the weather outside. He didn’t like this. With all the supernatural happenings he’d endured during his life he’d become superstitious. Not to the point of avoiding stepping on cracks, but weather like this on a weekend night shift at Freddy’s? The atmosphere was too foreboding for his taste. 

“Right…” Kyle said with more uncertainty, now picking up on what Mike was. She shifted in the driver’s seat, trying to ease up and shake off the building sensation of dread. Getting the idea that was useless, she exhaled, “Least we found some stuff out today.”

Mike nodded in agreement, “Yeah, about the two golden hybrid suits, Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, from the diner.”

“And you hadn’t heard nothing about them before?” Kyle questioned curiously. She squinted her eyes and looked out at the road, with this weather it was going to take longer than necessary to reach their work place. Thankfully they’d left half an hour early on Mike’s suggestion, though now Kyle wasn’t sure how much spare time they were going to get. 

“Not a thing. I only found out about Golden Freddy after running into it during a shift.” Mike answered, taking his borrowed coffee thermos from the cup holder. He took a long drink while mentally prepping himself for tonight. It was going to be worse, he knew it was going to be worse and the foreboding feeling hanging in the air like a sickness didn’t help. He took another drink, the caffeine quickly setting to work, and went on, “The two suits were decommissioned after a couple of guys got killed in them remember?”

“Yeah, I remember…” Kyle said with a grimace, she could only imagine the mental scarring the kids who’d been unfortunate enough to witness such an event. She gave a grim groan, “All because the two go into a fight reportedly…”

“Also said that the suits spring locks hadn’t been checked on that week. When they were supposed to have be tuned at least every three days.” Mike pointed out. His fingers jittered on his pants leg, he could use a smoke right about now. Last time he’d managed to get one in before he went to the shift on Friday. This time he hadn’t smoked out of courtesy to Kyle and Jessica. As he recalled another detail he spoke, “The original creator, Arthur Hayes, said something like, “Had the suits been properly tended to the light shoving wouldn’t have triggered the malfunction”.”

Kyle nodded grimly, another boom of thunder sounded from the sky, “There was also that guy, Frits Smith. The one they arrested for the disappearances.”

“He was released months after being sentenced as guilty when the murders started up again.” Mike unimpressed huffed at the justice system’s failure, “Police jumped at the first person they could. Evidence was good enough, and things did go quiet for a while after he was locked away. Until the next body was found that is. Frits avoided the chair because of it.” Mike leaned his elbow on the car door, watching the heavy raindrops pelt it, “He disappeared after his release though.”

“Because of that people started to think there were two killers for a while.” Kyle added in while taking a turn.

“Then things just stopped after the last Freddy’s shut down.” Mike stated, this part he recalled somewhat through his then recent nightmares. For a while the news reported on the lack of deaths, then, things just went quiet…An unsaid mutual consensus went through the town. No one questioned and everyone accepted. It took thirty years for Fazbear’s to ever be brought up again, this time as Fazbear’s Fright. Only to be promptly burned down. A pang of melancholy swept through Mike, the weather reflecting his emotions for a moment, “People just wanted to forget and move on…” 

Kyle frowned in agreement and said nothing for the moment. With a bite of bitterness, she spoke, “Yeah, and possibly because of that the kids are still trapped. For all we know the killer is still alive and got away with it. Because they just let it go.” She sighed, releasing her building anger, “Doesn’t help us either. Spent a whole day trying to find some sort of lead to turn up empty.”

“It’s been thirty years. We’re not going to solve it in a day.” Mike stated, not sounding happy about it himself. A fact was a fact though. Neither of them had a degree in investigation or had ties to the Hurricane Police force. They had no help or skill, all they had was willpower.

“I know,” Kyle admitted, tone dreary as their surroundings, “I just wish we had something.”

“So do I…” Mike muttered in agreement his eyes fixed on the water logged scenery outside. It was like the world was mourning, all color had been watered out, warmth leeched away as the sky shed tears. For what Mike couldn’t say. The foreboding tension knitted into the air inside the car seemed to grow a sense of malice as they neared their destination. Mike did his best to shake of the feeling but still it lingered.

The two night guards sat in the car for a minute once they arrived at the pizzeria, Mike’s old car still sitting waiting for him. Kyle looked at the pizzeria and couldn’t help but gulp, fearful knots tying themselves tightly in the pit of her cold apprehension. She wrung her hands on the steering wheel in attempt to work herself out of it. It was no use though, with the thought of animatronics waiting, eager, to put an end to her there was little psyching herself out of it. Instead she steeled her nerves, reminding herself not to back out of this. Kyle had to help Mike save the kids, somehow.

“Ready?” Mike asked his tense and apprehensive partner. He got a jerky nod in reply. Mike eyed her for a moment, half expecting her to suddenly blurt out that she changed her mind. He honestly wouldn’t blame her if she did, but it didn’t come. Mike was left stuck somewhere between uneasy and grateful because of it. The veteran guard shoved it aside and reached to the back seat and grabbed two umbrellas, one black and one red. He handed the black one over to Kyle, who took it with an almost whispered thanks, and the two headed out into the pounding rain.

Kyle was forced to grip her umbrella with a vice grip as the wind jerked it forward. Muttering a swear she pulled it back while managing to shut her car door. Fighting against the strong wind, cold, and heavy rain, the two guards headed up to the pizzeria. From under the safety of her umbrella Kyle looked out at the building. It didn’t look as damning as she’d expected it to tonight, it was water logged as everything else around them. 

Despite the wind, rain, and peal of thunder, the sound of Mike unlocking the door sounded clearly in her ears. The door swung open and Kyle noted how much darker the building looked inside than the weather outside. She shoved this thought back and headed inside, relieved to be out of the cold. Unfortunately, the temperature of the building was hardly any more welcoming. She shivered as the still, cold, dry, air draped itself over her, there almost felt like there was a meanness to it.

Kyle followed Mike to the office and they left their dripping umbrellas in the corner of the room. The two guards took their seats, Kyle on the left and Mike on the right. The female guard didn’t question Mike as he sat on the side away from Foxy. Inwardly she was grateful he wasn’t trying to push himself, at least he understood his limits.

They were still five minutes early despite the weather. Kyle was thankful for the time to prepare herself mentally, but at the same time just wanted it to start already just to get it over with. She decided to distract herself by checking her gear over. Flashlight, in her pocket, spare batteries, in her other pocket. Kyle frowned recalling how Mike had told her that Gregor had found out about the balloon dispenser’s dangerous ability. Thankfully though it was repelled by all the same methods as the others. Puppet on the other hand was a concern, they had to remain constantly vigilant with it.

Mike eyed his companion, it was clear she was afraid. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, he couldn’t promise anything. He’d barely survived his sixth night and nearly died on his seventh. Mike blinked and spotted a post-it note on the wall above the desk. Curious he plucked it off, catching Kyle’s attention in the process.

“What’s does it say?” Kyle asked.

“Looks like the bastard did something productive.” Mike answered after reading the brief note. He crumpled the post-it up and tossed it into the trash bin present in the room. Grabbing up the tablet Mike explained, “He had the mechanic make the music box last longer. Plays the whole “pop goes the weasel” song instead of a few verses.”

Kyle eyes lit up in relief, “That’s good, be easier to keep it in the box now.”

His companion seemed less tense now, that was good. Mike knew they weren’t out of the woods yet but he wasn’t going to ruin it for her. Calmer she was the better. He looked at the tablet’s clock, the shift was about to begin.

“Ready?” Mike asked, his tone and expression stoic.

Kyle took a shaky breath and answered, “I think this is as ready as I’m going to get.”

“Same here.” The older guard admitted with a wry, short lived, smile. Kyle returned the sentiment with some gratitude. The brief lived peacefulness of the moment was broken by the sound of animatronics shifting, several of them. Mike quickly went to work on checking on the possessed robots. The only one that hadn’t moved yet was Foxy, the pirate still hidden by his starry lavender purple curtain, while Freddy was staring down the camera with white pinpricks and a blunt-toothed grin.

All the others that could be immediately active were not at their starting points. The night shift had begun.

 

Sealed away in the back Springtrap’s form still sat against the wall, head slumped forward. The animatronic by all means seemed lifeless for the moment. Once twelve am came the rotting cadaver of a robot bunny gave a sporadic twitch. Eyes still closed Springtrap’s head jerked to the side, twitched its way back to the other as the spirit inside quickly stirred awake. The suit’s joints squealed in protest as the head snapped back. Unceremoniously the head slumped back down before slowly rising back up with a choked moan escaping its opening jaws.

The ethereal glow radiated from Springtrap’s lifeless eyes as he opened them, his consciousness returning to find that he was still stuck in his personal hell. Springtrap hissed to himself in aggravation which turned into a snarl once a jolt of pain shot through his mind, a result of the jerking around he did while awaking. Another bolt of pain shot through his consciousness eliciting a sharp hiss from the hybrid animatronic. As the hiss died down Springtrap readied himself to begin more attempts to stand when he heard a familiar sound, his good ear stood up as he listened. 

Rain was pounding on the roof, one after another drops hit the top of the building with an unceasing persistence. The sound triggered a memory that was already prominent in his head but was then shoved right into the forefront of his consciousness. It was quick but painful like a shard of glass shoving its way through his decayed mind. Its sensation, jolting as it was, seemed brief as he lost himself in the memory. By far it was no peaceful trance. The animatronic’s eyes darted around randomly staring out at nothing, yet with an intensity that suggested otherwise. His form twitched without his notice, like Springtrap was trying to keep up with what his broken mind was replaying.

He was sitting on a bed, leg jittering out of pent up agitation. This motion caused the rest of his frame to bare a slight tremble as well, leading all the way up to the hand holding a cigarette in his mouth. He recalled that had been is second in a row, the smell of the smoke clinging tightly to the air. Yet none of the nicotine in the cigarettes seemed to really hinder his building hostility.

How dare he? How dare that bastard Jones fire him! He knew why, it was an attempt to get back at him. Spineless bastard. Fine, the pizzeria was shutting down soon. In fact, by the end of the week. He’d made quiet the scene; he knew he couldn’t go after him, they had a deal anyway. No, he was going to make sure he couldn’t scrape up any cash from this.

He had to finish things anyway.

The animatronics. He couldn’t let Jones scrap them and sell the parts. They weren’t his. Jones had no right to do what he pleased with them. Jones didn’t build them, didn’t create them. That…that had been Hayes, and Hayes was gone now.

And he sure as hell hadn’t caused them to be what they were now. That had been him. He was the only one left that had any right to them. They were his to do with what he wished…

Rain poured down hard on him as he retrieved his fire axe from his trunk. With the use of a spare key he’d had made he entered the building. There was no worry about a guard being present. Jones hadn’t bothered hiring another after the last one. 

A grin carved its way onto his face as he looked down at an empty Freddy head. Right where he’d left it. He put the head on, not bothered by it in the least. It was time to put on one last show.

“Follow me.” He’d said after catching Freddy’s attention. The mask disguised his true appearance from the bear, making them think he was one of their own and his voice came out sounding exactly like Freddy’s. The stupid child had no reason to think he wasn’t one of them.

He withheld a throaty laugh as he stood in the safe room, Freddy head no longer worn. The child was still too afraid to enter the safe room. Oh well, worked in his favor.

SMASH! CRASH! SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! 

Freddy lay on the ground, sparking, in separate pieces. Then he heard a sound, the smashing had lured in another. Quickly he ducked back into the back room and grabbed the head again. He paused, Spring Bonnie lay against the far wall. Nostalgia was quickly pushed aside. 

SMASH! Bonnie’s head flew off from the rest of it. He didn’t stop there, anger guiding him. He kept going till the thing was in pieces like Freddy. He snarled swearing and kicked the bunny’s head into a wall. Damn brats, always a nuisance. His anger ebbed and his grin returned, it had been fun though. Playing their game at night.

But it was time to end things.

SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! CRASH! Down went Chica, the animatronic’s left arm and leg severed. Grin ever present he pinned the flailing bot down with his foot. The child was wailing, calling out. The child sounded scared. 

“Still afraid of me? Good.” SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! Chica was dismembered now, with a gaping hole in the center of the suit. He hard charging footsteps, he shook his head. The old pain in his ass Foxy was still pissed as ever.

Like the rest, he went down. He wailed on the fox with the rest of his aggression, “Failed again to save your sister! Pathetic! What piss poor brother you are!” He snickered, leering down at the dismembered fox, “Then again, it was your fault she died in the first place.”

He was done here. Time to go. 

Everything stopped. Freddy’s song was playing behind him. How? Startled he turned around and there was Fredbear. How? It didn’t make sense! Fear, he was afraid. He hadn’t felt fear in so long. Fredbear shouldn’t be here! The suit was disposed of a long time ago! How could it be…unless-The thing moved and he lashed out. The axe went right through and he stared, fear gripped him like a vice. He was shaking… 

He wasn’t in control anymore.

Fredbear laughed at him. He dropped the axe and backed away, shaking. He didn’t like this. He didn’t want this feeling! He was the monster not them!

Something grabbed at his throat. He gagged and struggled. He stared at a white masked with vengeful burning eyes glaring at him. The Puppet. Puppet was laughing, they were both laughing. Rain was dripping down from the ceiling, landing on his face.

He broke free from the frailer animatronic and fled. The safe room! They wouldn’t go into the safe room!

Mask, the mask, he’d left it out with the broken animatronics. He needed something to hide who he was! Spring Bonnie! He hid himself inside his old suit, he was safe.

He forgot Puppet wasn’t fooled by masks. He forgot how old and unmaintained Spring Bonnie was. He forgot how wet his clothing still was. He hadn’t noticed the water dripping from the ceiling down onto the spring lock suit. He’d been too afraid. He’d messed up.

He froze as the Puppet entered the room with Fredbear, and six other ghostly figures of children. His victims. The Puppet scanned the room. It didn’t notice him and they left.

He laughed, he got up and mocked them. He froze when he heard snapping. The spring locks had come undone.

Pain. All he felt was pain. The spring locks snapped and sliced into him. Cutting at his joints, sinking their way in. He trembled then cried out, begging for anyone to help him before-The animatronic parts shoved their way forward. Pressing against him, tearing into him. Pain, so much pain! He gagged, clawing as his throat. Blood welled up from it. Something tore its way into him and blood poured from his mouth. He cried in pain, uttering weak cries for help.

Then they came back. Seven ghosts of his victims and Puppet standing guard over them. Things were going black. He reached out, blood seeping from the suit joints. Puppet stared him down with a cold deep seated hatred.

He held his throat, animatronic parts tearing into it, blood was oozing forth. He fell down, gagging and choking. His victims left, the Puppet leading them out of the room. He gurgled in agony, too much blood clogging his throat to properly make a noise. A pressure pressure building in the back of his skull. Pain erupted, and then darkness.

Darkness and nothing. For so long nothing. At times he’d remember something, at times he’d feel a stirring. Brief disturbances but nothing more. Then they came, tearing down a wall. They hauled him out and he drifted back into sleep. Then a familiar voice…it’d been so long his consciousness was weak, but it came back.

The guard, he was fun to mess with. He didn’t care what he was doing. No less he wanted to kill him, it was a game. Then…he set him up. Doused the place in gasoline and set it ablaze…

Springtrap jerked back to the present. The animatronic rasped more than usual, the memories felt like shards of glass scraping by each other. Bits of it were hazy, his memories jumbled together to recall the basic parts. His death though, oh he remembered it far too clearly. More clearly than when it had been happening perhaps.

Then, Springtrap got an idea. He looked at his suit’s damage then pondered something. If the children could have done it. Then why not him? It was time to take a different approach to his escape. Springtrap braced himself, this was no doubt going take some struggling. His hands dug into the concrete ground as he pulled forward.

Eyes glaring Springtrap let out a loud shrill shriek that rang out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Springtrap's flashback, I've been wanting to get to it since I started this story.  
> Get ready, he's getting out this chapter.


	29. Night Six (part2)

“Again?” Mike said as he heard the faint, odd, animatronic cry in the distance again. It was definitely louder this time but still distant. He quickly checked the back again, still nothing. What worried him was the noise had happened more this night than last night. Further the cry was still going! Mike gritted his teeth, he didn’t like this, “What is going on?”

“Mike, I don’t like this…” Kyle said, echoing his thoughts, as she eyed the open left door. She had half a mind to shut the door preemptively, but held this urge back. They needed to conserve power. The animatronics had been hounding them like there was no tomorrow! Every percent of power was precious and needed to be used properly. 

“Neither do I.” Mike uttered carefully in agreement as he eyed the right doorway. He looked back to the tablet, “I haven’t spotted anything yet, just stay alert.”

“Right.” His partner said with a stiff nod.

So far they’d been lucky, both Foxy and Freddy hadn’t budged yet. The fox was even still behind the curtain. Mangle on the other hand seemed to be particularly active tonight. The white fox had attempted the right door then immediately ducked into the vent when deterred. When it got blocked Mangle went immediately back to the right door, this time with Chica as back up. Bonnie was also being rather hard to turn away. The bunny was practically pacing up and down the left hall.

Their focused silence was destroyed when the tablet let out a broken screech that quickly turned into a droning tone. The sudden burst of noise had sent Kyle to her feet, her flight instinct nearly kicking into gear. She stared at the tablet like a frightened animal waiting for a predator to make its move. That noise, she recognized it from the night before. Tensely she waited for Golden Freddy to appear, but the animatronic didn’t. Hesitantly she moved towards Mike and the tablet, giving a glance back at the left door just to check.

“What’s it doing?” Kyle asked warily as she peered at the screen. Mike didn’t give an answer as it appeared on the now black screen.

“Why…? Why come back?”

The text was at the top left of the screen. Mike and Kyle waited for Golden Freddy to appear, to attack them, but the phantom animatronic remained unseen. The two guards both jumped when the phone rang. It was well past twelve am and no message had been left for the two of them. Mike and Kyle exchanged unnerved glances as the phone continued to ring. Neither of them said anything as Kyle hesitantly pressed the play button.

“Y--re in da-aaa-nger. Y-ou sho-dn-t h---ave c---me ba-ack. I t-d you b-------st-stay away.” The guards were rendered speechless as a young girl’s voice came from the phone. Her voice sounded off, distorted, faded, and bared grim sadness.

Mike stood up straight, stricken with the realization that it was one of the lost children speaking through the phone. He heard a soft words coming from beside him, Mike looked up towards Kyle. Her eyes were locked on the phone, staring with a mixture of shock and sadness.

“My dream, she told me to stay away…” Kyle didn’t seem to actually speaking to him, the words were just tumbling from her mouth. The moment had rendered her unable to cage her thoughts.

Mike looked back to the phone, wanting to say something. To say sorry, ask forgiveness, for answers on to how to help them. If anyone, one of the children would know something. Just as he opened his mouth a loud frightened screech rang from the phone before the message ended normally. Startled the guards were left staring at the office phone. The tablet jumped in Mike’s hands as he was frightened once again when it let out a jumbled whine.

“It’s him! It’s him! IT’S HIM! IT’S HIM!” The phrase repeated itself all over the screen some overlapping others as if in a panic.

The device blared again as red lines appearing all along the screen, appearing, disappearing, and then reappearing again at random. Then the screen changed completely and the results left the guards more stunned than ever. Their camera screen had changed into the style of an eight-bit pixel game. Everything on the screen was still recognizable if not a little abstract. At the moment the camera was still on Pirate Cove. Foxy’s stage was still recognizable, the lavender curtain was dotted with yellow pixels representing the curtain’s stars. From between the curtains of the light brown wooden stage was glared Foxy’s yellow eye.

A clunk from the right hall drew their attention and a swear from Mike as they saw Chica staring at them from behind the window, beak hanging open. Both of her hands were empty. Mike only got to register this for a moment when a bouncing clatter caught his attention. He heard it only slightly above Chica’s disturbing wail that was pouring unceasingly from her beak. From around the corner leapt a small pink shape that quickly latched itself onto Mike’s arm.

“Mike!” Kyle cried as the older guard swung his arm up and down, trying to shake Carl off.

“Worry about Chica!” Mike shouted as he banged the mini-bot on the desk. The small animatronic stubbornly clung on and bit down harder into the man’s arm. Mike cringed in pain and was forced to put down the tablet and try to wrench Carl from his arm.

While Mike fought to get the cupcake off of his arm Kyle moved around him and towards the right door. She halted as Chica filled the doorway with its bulky form. Kyle’s eyes darted from the death wailing animatronic to the red door button. With what courage she had gathered, Kyle rushed for the red button. She let out a startled cry as the possessed animatronic latched onto her wrist with painfully strong grip.

Kyle stared up, face stricken with fear, as Chica glared down at her, eyes soulless white little orbs. The guard felt her eyes widen as Freddy’s laugh echoed down the hall, the bear had moved. Shortly after Kyle heard Balloon Boy’s cheerful, unsettlingly innocent, laugh nearby. This sent the guard to struggle faster against the animatronic’s grip. If Balloon Boy got into their office they’d die for sure.

The animatronic’s ability caused her to remember her flashlight. Kyle pulled the torch from her pocket and readied to take aim for the bird’s eyes. Chica screeched and lunged her beak forward, Kyle yelled and pulled her arm out of the way. The animatronic was trying to bite her arm off! Chica grabbed her side and seemed to be aiming to bite into her when it froze up. Kyle titled her head back and saw Mike had managed to shine his flash light on the yellow bird. Quickly she worked on freeing herself from Chica’s grip. This proved to be hard as expected, even with the possessed robot dazed its grip was still strong. 

Mike smacked the mini-bot, that was still latched onto his bleeding arm, with his flashlight. Carl only seemed to react with muffled annoyed hisses. Finally, with one strong swing, Mike managed to knock the miniature menace off. He wasted no time in punting the cupcake animatronic out of the room. Carl sailed back with a shrill cry before it smacked into the left hall. The mini-bot growled, hopped back onto its cup, and tried lunging again, only to smack into the office door.

“Let me help with that.” Mike said as he began trying to pry Chica’s fingers off. When the animatronic’s head began to twitch again, Kyle panicked strongly enough that she ripped herself away from the backup singer. The robot froze up again when shined her flashlight on it, leaving Chica staring blankly at nothing while standing halfway into the room. Mike took this opportunity and pushed away the yellow robot, “Push it back into the hall!”

With Kyle’s help the two guards shoved the dazed animatronic back into the dark hall. Chica fell back against the wall and laid slumped against it, head tilted back at an awkward angle. The guards shut the door, hoping to prompt Chica to leave. Both guards stepped back, panting from the rushed effort. Kyle took a couple of breaths, easing herself slightly from the fear she’d felt, her heart still pounded away with quickened beats. A wince from Mike caught out of the corner of her eye got Kyle to look fully to her coworker.

“Are you alright?” She asked in worry. Kyle reeled in her concern when Mike shrugged it away. She watched as he fished something from his pocket, a small roll of bandages. She quirked a brow questioningly, “How long have you had that?”

“Brought it with me on our last shift.” Mike answered as he quickly bandaged his bleeding wound. Once done he shoved what remained back into his pocket. “Isn’t the first time they’ve drawn my blood, remember?” He stated, making a couple quick points to his shoulder.

Kyle nodded, recalling the damage Foxy had done, “Uh, yeah…” A series of dull, blunt, tones caught her attention and brought it back to the tablet. She glanced back to the left door where she presumed Mike had tossed Carl out. Kyle pointed towards it, “I-I’ll check to see if the…cupcake,” she couldn’t believe she was equating a pastry to something dangerous, “left...”

Mike nodded his approval and focused back on the tablet. It was still in the style of an old eighties game. He touched the screen warily, unsure of what would happen if he did. He jabbed it at the main party room, pulling his finger back quickly. The pixels on the screen fell apart piece by piece, the tablet droned and once again flickered with red lines. The screen was quickly refilled with colored pixels once more and this time the main stage was shown. Strangely it was shown from a top down perspective as dull beeps played from the tablet.

“What the…?” Mike uttered softly to himself as a new development appeared. He heard the left door open but didn’t look to his coworker as she headed over to him. Mike kept his eyes fixated on the screen.

“What is it?” Kyle questioned. She immediately got her answer when she saw the figure moving in place on the screen. The female guard’s expression shifted to one of uncertain confusion, her brows pulled close together. Kyle parroted what Mike had said, “What the?” 

Moving in place on the stage was a purple figure of what appeared to be a man. Aside from the primarily purple color scheme the figure had some black trimmings, adding basic details to the form. He seemed to be wearing a hat with a black bill, a belt with a grey buckle, and black shoes. On closer inspection Kyle noted there was something familiar about the figure’s design.

“He’s wearing a security uniform.” She said, noticing what looked to be a badge on the figure’s chest. Kyle frowned in concern, she didn’t like the look of the wide empty grin on his face or the black eyes with single white pixels for pupils. It reminded her of the Puppet’s malicious expression.

“What’s this all about?” Mike muttered as the dull beeps in the background repeated, “The beeps have already looped.”

“Wait…” Kyle held a hand up, indicating for Mike to be quiet. He gave her a puzzled look as she seemed to be listening intently to the repetitive noise. After a moment she spoke, “H-E-S-H-E-R-E.” She recited, “They’re letters. It’s spelling something.”

Mike looked at her for a moment before looking back to the tablet. Now that he focused more on the sounds he could make the letters out, barely, but they were there. Before Mike could try and figure what was being said Kyle beat him to it, “He’s here.”

Right after the words were said the figure shifted, looking left then right, before walking right off the front of stage, and off the screen. Once the purple man was off screen a dull digital boom sounded, like a game over had occurred. The screen went black, and when it came back everything was normal. The camera showed its proper angle, swaying back and forth with a soft whirr.

“Okay, what was that about?” Kyle said bluntly, voicing her confusion towards the sheer strangeness of what’d happened. When that was out of her system the answer became more obvious. It wasn’t something she liked either. She looked to Mike, getting a feeling he thought the same, “It-she, was warning us about him. Is…is he?”

“Possibly.” Mike answered with a grim frown as he immediately got back to the routine. It didn’t look like he was opening the right door anytime soon. Chica was still present, and Balloon Boy was heading down the hall. Foxy was getting ready to charge. Bonnie was hanging around the entrance to the left hall, and he wasn’t sure where Mangle was. Mike opted to wind up the Puppet’s music box. Thankfully, with the adjustment to the song the charge had only been reduced to half.

“So what did it mean?” Kyle said, pressing the conversation forward. Trying to rush an understanding of this new element in their situation. She looked towards the left door and continued, “Is someone literally here? I didn’t hear anything, did you?”

“Don’t think so.” Mike answered, though he didn’t sound certain, glancing left and right. Looking back to the now normal tablet screen he checked the left and right halls. He stared at the screen a moment, whatever had just happened Mike knew it wouldn’t be good to just disregard it. The veteran guard thought over how to deal with this and what he’d heard in the background recently. He began to recant, “Last we heard was the animatronics moving, and that strange cry, but that stopped a while ago.”

Kyle looked to the open left door, almost tempted to lean out and check for a figure. Better judgement won out and she discarded the thought. Silently she tried to think back as to when the strange cry had stopped. The panic of being attacked by Chica; however, made it unclear as to when, the event overshadowing anything beforehand. Kyle thinned her lips, “You don’t think it has something to do with this purple figure do you?”

The suggestion got Mike to stop a moment. Had the cry stopped before the lost child freaked out? He couldn’t clearly recall; he’d been focused on the contact that had been made. As such, Mike wasn’t comfortable with saying yes or no. Mike gave a half attempted shrug, “I can’t say. This is new territory for me. If that guy is alive he’s gotta be pushing sixty to seventy at least.” The veteran guard huffed in disdain, “If the animatronic’s get to him, it won’t make it any harder for me to sleep at night.”

Kyle gave a murmur of agreement then hesitantly asked, “And if he isn’t alive…?”

“Then we have a new problem.” Mike uttered, dreading the possibility of another phantom assailant. He was barely at ease about Golden Freddy being a possible ally. Mike wanted to believe that the lost child was trying to help, but if it was its help was dangerous. Its presence messed with their heads and its warnings drew attention. The possibility of an ally also seemed too good to be true. 

 

From the shadows he observed the security room. There was only so much to tell from this distance, but at least an idea could be gathered. Whoever was inside the office was certainly handling the situation well. It was surprising how fast the guard had adjusted in the last two days. Regardless, this guard would die like the other had. 

He needed to be careful about being seen by the kids though, no doubt they’d not take his presence too well. He glanced towards the sound were “Pop Goes the Weasel” was coming from. A chat with their leader might make things easier for him; however, that would have to wait until he had the opportunity. The music box, he noticed, was playing the full song, so his chance likely wasn’t going to be for a while.

All the more reason to dispatch of the guard. He just needed the right opening. A tell-tale whirr drew his attention to the camera mounted in the hall. 

 

“About time Chica left.” Mike commented dully as he finally opened the right door. It’d taken longer for the chicken to leave than he liked. She’d seemed bound and determined to just stand there and wait them out. Eyes back on the tablet Mike checked the time and power. They were just nearing two am. Their power was nearing sixty percent, that wasn’t good. Mike had a bad feeling they were going to run out of power. He glanced to Kyle who was watching the left door like a hawk. Damn it all, that reminded him of Foxy and upon checking Pirate Cover the animatronic’s curtain was pulled all the way back. The captain himself was giving a seething glare up at the camera. Mike gave another glance at Kyle, but decided not to burden her with the thought unless he was their power got far too low.

“Bonnie is still pacing back and forth…” Kyle said as she stared through window and into the darkened hall. The guitarist seemed to turn right around soon as he reached the end of the hall. With his quickened pace he returned far too frequently for her taste. Oddly enough he’d went into the supplies closet a couple of times.

“Foxy is getting ready to charge.” Mike told her, overlooking the bunny’s persistence, as he switched camera. He knew this was how Bonnie acted on the later nights, Chica frequently enough being just as bad. Kyle was about to respond when the tablet screen suddenly changed along with a brief static-like pop. Mike looked down and was stunned to see “Camera Offline” dead center on the screen. Hand shaking the veteran guard jabbed at the camera button repeatedly, as if that’d somehow reset the camera or to make what he was seeing not true. Mike was further alarmed when nothing changed. Something had disabled the camera.

“The camera, right hall’s camera is offline.” The words let themselves out of Mike’s mouth before he realized what he was saying. Kyle herself only just got to register what her coworker said before something more pressing caught their attention.

What sounded like a raging thunderstorm, rivaling the one still going on outside, came rushing from the vent. In an instant both guards realized that in the confusion and fast pace of their shift they’d forgotten to check the vent, and the skeletal fox Mangle had realized this. In full fury Mangle shot from the vent and onto the office ceiling, leaving neither guard time to disguise themselves. Ear stabbing radio static pouring from its jaws, Mangle hissed and snapped at the guards from the ceiling. 

“Shit!” Mike cursed as he flung himself from the office chair to avoid getting bitten. The frantic action sent the older guard to the linoleum tiled floor with a thud and the chair to go crashing. The impact sent a wave a pain up from Mike’s rear and up to his spine. He groaned and briskly lamented about not taking better care of himself. Mike looked up and to his alarm the animatronic had turned its attention to Kyle. Mangle was unrelenting, snapping repeatedly at the other guard. Mike’s eyes widened in horror, the fox was separating them, and yelled out, “Kyle!”

His yell did nothing to keep Mangle from lunging at Kyle from the ceiling with a violent screech. Mangle coiled itself on its hunches before bolting forward, chasing the female guard down the left hall. Mike quickly got to his feet, ready to rush over and try to help his cohort. A ghostly laugh from behind him caused the man to freeze up. An iron grip grabbed his shoulder and next thing Mike knew is he was flung down the right hall.

There was a crack as he collided with the hard floor. Mike groaned and pulled himself up. He looked down at the source of the noise, which thankfully wasn’t him. In his panic he’d kept the tablet in his hand, which now sported a long crack across the screen. If he made it through the night Mike just knew Gregor was going to bitch at him. Heavy flat footsteps redrew his attention back to the advancing Freddy. The mascot was leering down at him, eyes beginning to flash as it played its death song. The dim flashing lights from its eyes were just enough that Mike could see the blunt white teeth that formed a heartless grin.

The bear’s lifeless blue eyes rolled into the back of its head revealing its ethereal, possessed set. Freddy glared down at Mike as it took slow deliberate steps towards him. With each step the animatronic took the guard could feel faint vibrations from them grow stronger.

Mike couldn’t help a faint laugh, “Heh, so do you recognize me?” The bear’s ears lowered in angry acknowledgement. The middle aged man slowly, carefully, shifted his hand to his belt loop, “Can’t say I blame you for being mad at me. I’m mad at myself.” Mike admitted with somber honesty. 

The confession didn’t calm the bear, if anything its eyes burned with validated hate. Mike grabbed hold of his worn flashlight, Freddy didn’t seem to notice this, “But,” Mike continued tensely, edging back a bit along the ground, “I can’t help you if you kill me.”

Freddy’s arms shot forward with surprising speed. Only to freeze as its sight was blinded by a bright beam of light and the song stopped. The ray seemed double in strength from the entity’s point of view. All it had been doing was suddenly erased from its consciousness leaving it with a complete blank. From the being’s core anger and pain burned fiercely, quickly the raw feelings worked to overpower the momentary stun. Freddy’s hands twitched, head gave a jerked, and Mike took it as his cue to leave.

The guard got to his feet and flicked his flashlight off, to avoid wasting precious battery power. Mike clenched his jaw, he had to regroup with Kyle as soon as possible! A rustling in the kitchen brought a weak feeling of relief to Mike. Chica had gone to the kitchen. Soon a pair of loud metal thuds drew his attention back to the office. A sense of dread overwhelmed Mike, the office door had been shut and by the sound of it both of them had. He lifted his head when he saw a figure briefly moving inside.

Had Kyle just locked him out of the office?

Mike had no time to ponder this as more movement came from Freddy. He gave one last look to the office before hurrying down the hall. A child’s laughter cause Mike to halt, Balloon Boy was making his way towards the corridor. The guard swore to himself, if the short robot saw him it’d start laughing and draw its pals towards him. He turned and booked it into the prize corner, for the moment Mike disregarded the Puppet’s box. Instead he headed behind the counter and hid inside the supply closet.

The night guard sat hunched up against the wall next to some boxes, listening for the sound of the animatronic’s moving. They didn’t seem to be moving in towards him. Hastily Mike checked the tablet and was relieved that it was still working. The hall camera, much to his dismay, was still offline. Mike’s hope dropped as he watched the power reserve quickly depleting itself.

What was Kyle thinking? Had she gotten this panicked? 

Mike suddenly felt unsure, a short phrase echoing in his head, He’s here. Uncertainty made its home in his gut, it’s weight considerably heavy.

That had been Kyle right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go...


	30. Night Six (part3)

Kyle ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Mangle rushed after her, constantly jumping from the walls, ceiling, and floor with no hitch in its speed. With the constant change in position Kyle failed to get the fox pinned under her flashlight. The night guard gasped in surprise when Mangle suddenly leapt at her. Soon false rounded teeth sunk into her upper arm, metal skeletal hands gripping tightly onto her. 

The second head, Petey, aimed to latch its teeth on as well but Kyle managed to halt it with her flashlight. Unfortunately, that didn’t faze the main head. Mangle released her arm but only to sink its teeth into the other arm. This time the action elicited a cry of pain from the night guard, as she felt hard teeth force their way through her skin and warm blood well forth.

Nearby a pair of animatronic feet met the ground before a rush of footsteps was heard. Kyle hadn’t realized how close she was to Pirate Cove, nor had she recalled Mike mentioning the fox had been ready to charge. In a moment of quick thinking Kyle pulled back, struggling with the lighter animatronic. By the time Foxy reached them Mangle had been jerked into the way. A loud crash resulted and Mangle’s jaw was torn away from Kyle’s arm in the process. The guard bit down on her tongue, caging a yelp. 

The guard pulled herself to her feet, having stumbled along with the animatronic when Foxy crashed into them. Foxy and Mangle were snarling and hissing at each other as the captain fought to unhook his weapon from the white fox’s endoskeleton. Kyle hurried her way from the two, leaving them to their squabbling. Faintly the bickering reminded her that they were children.

With the foxes blocking the way back, Kyle knew she’d have to find a way to go through the main party room to get to the right hall. That was until she heard both of the metal security office doors slam shut. Kyle stood staring, at nothing in particular, upon hearing this. Her stupor was brief when the snarling and hissing of the foxes urged her to find somewhere to hide. With a tight grip on the wound, that wasn’t on her flashlight wielding arm, Kyle hurried away from the animatronics. Kyle felt of flicker of relief when she saw none of the band mascots in the main party room. There was a small short shape at the entrance to the right hall but she ignored it and hurried into the back hall.

 

Back in the left hall there was a soft click of the supply closet door opening. Bonnie lightly nudged the door open, walked out, and shut it behind itself. The guitarist’s head spastically twitched back and forth at an angle. Jaw hanging open, it stalled upon spotting the office doors closed. The bunny’s left ear turned to the sound of its friends struggling down the hall ahead of it. Mangle and Foxy were in a variable ball of metal and false fur, both clearly furious.

Bonnie, false eyes filling its sockets, trudged down the hall to sort things out. Nothing would get done if they were busy fighting amongst themselves. 

 

Kyle stopped a moment as she stood in the back hall. The walls were bare of any decoration in the back, didn’t need to have any no child was supposed to be back here. This made the hall grimmer than the rest, no crudely drawn pictures to offer any reassurance or humanity to the situation. If at all possible the back hall felt colder, more hostile. Kyle’s eyes darted around, trying to locate a place to hide and watch out for anything else lurking in the dark. They still had the unknown of the purple man, if there as anything to it. 

What was in the back? The entrance to the backstage, no that wouldn’t help her. The maintenance room, no Bonnie liked to go there. Although the bunny did seem to be patrolling the left hall, unless Mangle and Foxy tipped their friend off to her location. At the moment Kyle wasn’t going to dismiss that thought. On the other hand, the repair room would have spare heads she could use to disguise herself. 

The animatronics knew she wasn’t in the office anymore. Kyle needed every option to deter them she could get her hands on. Get in, get a mask, put it on, and get out, that was the plan Kyle decided on. 

With Bonnie having gone into the room prior to her, the door was already open. Carefully Kyle entered the room and winced as her wounds gave painful throbs. She looked down at her arms, it was hard to make out in the dark but she could see the puncture marks in her clothing. With the cold air the blood was drying quicker, making her clothing stick to her arms. Kyle pulled her gaze away and looked towards the shelves. For a moment she recoiled upon seeing rows of empty eyed heads staring back at her. Far too similar to the moving animatronics for Kyle’s liking.

“Just get one and go…” She whispered to herself, gripping the flashlight tightly in her shaking hand. Carefully she moved toward the shelves, almost fearing one of the masks would jump at her like Chica’s little minion had with Mike.

Mike, she wondered what’d happened to him. Had he shut the doors? No, Mike wouldn’t do that. Not when he knew what the animatronics would do if they caught her, not after what he’d been through. If he had, then it had to have been for a good reason…Kyle’s eye widened as a worrying thought came to her, oh no, is he having another panic attack? I have to try and get ahold of him soon as I can!

Hurried out of concern for her coworker, Kyle placed her flashlight onto the shelf and picked up a spare Chica mask. As she did so she felt pain jolt from each puncture wound in her arms. A swear on her breath Kyle accidentally dropped the mask, the hollow shell landing with an empty thud on the floor. Kyle grasped her left arm the one bristling with more pain. She’d never broken anything before but she was near certain her arm was at least fractured.

The danger still looming in the air Kyle pushed past the thought, knelt down, and picked up the mask again. This time being mindful of her wound she put the mask on as quickly as her arms would allow. Kyle took her flashlight back up and turned to head out of the room. She paused, realizing the light would draw the animatronic’s in from a distance. With a flick she turned it off and headed back out into the hall.

Behind her, once she was far enough away, there was the faint sound of metal scrapping followed shortly by careful footsteps.

The manager’s office was pitch black when Kyle first opened the door, forcing her to turn her flashlight back on. The night guard glanced back towards the entrance to the staff lounge. It didn’t sound like the animatronics had caught onto her just yet, but she hadn’t run into Mike either. This only made her more concerned for the man’s wellbeing. Kyle cringed at her still aching, bleeding wounds, hopefully she hadn’t left a trail behind herself.

Kyle made her way over to the manager’s desk and leaned on it for a moment. The bites hurt unbelievably bad, she had no clue how she was going to explain this to Jessica. Kyle put that issue aside for the moment and put her flashlight on the desk. From her pocket she pulled out her cellphone, looking down at the device Kyle realized she’d be hard pressed to do anything with the mask on. The beak was blocking her view of the screen. Irate Kyle put her phone down next to her flashlight, needing both arms to take the mask off. 

Smash! Kyle jumped at the sudden burst of noise, causing her to fumble the mask. She managed to catch it, but the jerky motion and heft of the mask caused a sharp stab of pain to spike in her arms. With a gasped cry Kyle dropped the Chica head. The night guard, over taken by pain, bent over griping her wounds. Kyle turned her head towards the sound, whatever it was she couldn’t tell what’d happened. 

The shadows were still dark in the corner of the room, but she was certain the noise had come from there. Carefully Kyle picked up her flashlight with a shaking, pain riddled arm. She was stunned to see her cellphone lying in the corner. Despite the fact it had inexplicably moved there was no mistaking that it was hers. From the desk she could see that the screen was smashed all the way through.

Kyle shined her light around the room, and even behind her, but saw nothing. There was nothing in the room with her. It was just her, the empty Chica head, and her now broken cellphone. Cautiously Kyle got up from the desk and ventured towards the phone. She didn’t know what she could possibly find out but Kyle had to see it for herself. Upon standing over her busted phone she stared at it a moment then looked back to the desk, then back to her phone. Regardless of when and how, her cellphone was no doubt busted, the screen was broken so badly she could see the electronic parts inside. 

A series of rushed footfalls came from behind her causing Kyle’s blood to run cold. Now she knew something was in the room with her. What worried her was the fact it didn’t sound like an animatronic. Kyle whirled around, waving her flashlight in attempt to catch sight of whoever it was. Nothing, just the desk and the Chica mask greeted her sight. The mask itself being a not so comforting. 

Kyle swallowed, and slowly backed into the corner to try and keep herself protected. Kyle continued to scan the room with her flashlight, she noticed the air was bitterly cold. Uneasily she called out, hoping her fear was for nothing, “M-Mike…? Is that you?”

She got nothing in response. There was a sinking feeling in her gut and it was growing with each passing second. Kyle continued to stay diligent, hoping to just outlast whatever had her cornered. She couldn’t see where it was, but the corner of the room felt like the safest spot. Mostly Kyle didn’t want to risk moving. So far, whatever it had been hadn’t made another move. She glanced down at her broken cellphone that laid busted on the floor. Unfortunately, with it busted she couldn’t tell what time it was.

Suddenly Kyle froze up, behind her. It was behind her, she could feel it. The presence was a heavy pressure and worse than what she’d felt from Golden Freddy the night prior. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a lost child. Kyle nearly gagged as a foul order of decay filled the air around her. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled as she heard a wheeze that trail out into a gravely chortle.

Kyle slowly dared to try and glance at the presence. When she did, Kyle was met with the sight of something metal getting swung down at her. 

 

Inside the prize corner’s supply closet, Mike’s worn hands tightly gripped the tablet. The crack in the screen was only a vague nuisance compared to watching the power drop. They were at the mid-twenties and falling quickly. Mike inwardly cursed the fact that the security room didn’t have a camera itself. He had no way of knowing if Kyle was safely inside the office from here, neither of the halls cameras had clear view of the office windows. Logically it had to be Kyle in the room, but Golden freaking out over this purple man left a good deal of doubt in him. He needed to see for himself, but leaving the store room was too risky.

To help himself be certain Mike began quickly flicking through the cameras. Kyle had run from the left hall so he started there. Nothing in the hall itself, or the supply closet. Upon selecting Pirate Cove, Mike was oddly greeted by the sight of Bonnie stranding by Mangle and Foxy. Before Mike could tell what was exactly going on the screen was stormed by a rush of hissing and popping static. Mike grinded his teeth together, he really didn’t need this right now! He flipped through a few cameras and the static followed up until four camera switches later.

Once the static finally subsided the camera was on the pain party room, which Mike saw had become a hive for animatronics. Freddy was looking over at Foxy who was lurking at the opposite end of the tables. Mangle hung from the ceiling, attentions split between the two back hall entrances. It almost seemed the animatronic was waiting for something. Bonnie hung around behind Foxy, the purple bunny just visible at the end of the camera swing.

For the moment Mike didn’t care where Chica; and her blasted minion, or Balloon Boy were, his goal was to find Kyle. He flipped to the maintenance room, nothing. Mike was about to change to another camera when he saw something shift on the screen. It was so small that it would normally been dismissed, but Mike had never seen anything actually move on screen during the night shift. Usually if something moved then it’d the camera view would be engulfed by a wave of static. Actual movement had been reserved for when he was looking at the animatronics with his own eyes. 

Mike felt something inside him jolt when something, what was likely a part of sorts, was suddenly dragged off a work table. Before the guard could get a look at what had taken it away the screen cut to static, much to Mike’s panic. It couldn’t have been Kyle; she wouldn’t trigger the static response. During his time alone Mike had looked into the supernatural a bit, in attempt to try and make sense of what happened and what plagued him. He’d learned that ghosts had the natural ability to interfere with electronics. It was called something specific but he was too panic ridden to recall what at the moment.

It also couldn’t have been an animatronic either, he’d for sure have spotted it! Mike didn’t dwell on it longer and changed to the back hall camera. Mike felt a moment of relief when he saw Kyle, wearing a Chica mask, carefully moving to the edge of the camera’s viewing range. However, this revealed to him that she hadn’t locked him out. Mike felt a pang of regret for believing the person that’d worried over him, even inviting him to spend a night at her home, would’ve leave him for dead. 

Mike’s worry was only amplified when something slipped by the cameras edge, whatever it’d been had been right up to the camera, and again he didn’t even get to catch what it had been. The tablet let out hiss of static then a pop. Mike’s blood ran frigid as he read “Camera Offline” on the screen. Without thinking he shot up to his feet, it didn’t matter what it was. Kyle was in trouble!

A sudden pressure gripped his shoulders, stopping Mike right as he was about to bolt out of the closet. The guard’s immediate reaction was to struggle with all his might against whatever held him captive. However, a tired middle aged man’s prowess wasn’t enough to break free. His mind began hurting, many tiny, hair pin-sized needles inserting themselves into the core of his consciousness. The source of the sensation was in front of him a death wail continually coming out with no consent from the source. Yet, despite having him perfectly caught the source did not kill him, but Mike in his panic did not notice this and continued to try and free himself.

“Let go!” He demanded in a growl, forgetting the fact he was hiding and should keep his voice down. The man thrashed but the unseen being did not yield. As he struggled the sensation in his mind grew stronger. The needles now sinking in further, his mind growing heavy and muddled. Mike still fought, “She-she’s in danger! Damn it! Let go! Let go!”

He knows it’s Golden Freddy before him, but all he cared about was saving Kyle. He couldn’t let her die. He couldn’t.

Golden still didn’t release him. Mike thrashed and thrashed but the grip on his arms didn’t budge. Attempts to pull away were just as futile. The phantom had a solid grip on him, and finally it appeared before him. He’d seen it manifesting, but had struggled regardless of the fact. Mike tried looking away, shutting his eyes, but the bear grabbed his face and forced him to make eye contact. Mike stalled when the white orbs didn’t burn with an anger, but a great sadness. They almost seemed dulled, sympathetic even. It left Mike staring back.

He did so long enough for Golden Freddy to grab onto his throat, Mike gagged in surprise. The guard’s eye began glazing over as a loud, painful, ringing filled his ears even though it came from within his mind. The ringing grew louder till it dominated over all sounds, his protests, the phantom’s rasping, nothing but the ringing could be heard. Quickly, Mike’s consciousness grew weak and he was barely hanging on.

“Why…? I... I have to…save…” Mike didn’t get finish his words as he fell unconscious, his form going slack.

 

Hard cold metal struck Kyle on the side of her face, completely unprepared she went crashing onto the floor. Her fresh injury and bite wounds reverberating the impact with what felt like twice the pain. Kyle stared out at the sea of carpet with a pained, glazed over expression. Her mind tried to figure out what’d hit her, while survival instincts told her that it didn’t matter what, and that she had to get away! Kyle got her mind into gear and regathered enough senses to move her hands, her body trembling at the effort.

Whatever had attacked her roughly grabbed her by the back of her uniform’s black collar, she could feel digits digging through the fabric with a deathly coldness. Next thing Kyle knew she was shoved into the desk at her midsection. Kyle let out an excruciating gasp, most of the air being knocked right out of her. The entity grabbed her again and turned her over, what felt to be a hand pinned her down at her shoulder, making her look at it. 

The expression of dazed pain on Kyle’s face became one of shock and complete, open jawed, trembling. After getting struck by this entity her flashlight had been smacked out of her hands, and now lay on the floor pointed towards the desk. The low laying light illuminated the thing that was now attacking her. 

It looked to be a man…or at least had once been a living person. His from was shredded, torn and exposed flesh littered his form, any skin shown was a rotten, decayed, purple. He seemed to be wearing a Fazbear security uniform, or at least a tattered version of it. The bloodied badge on his chest reinforced the fact. Kyle had found the purple man, and he was very much not alive.

Like the animatronics he looked down at her with empty eye sockets housing a gleaming dot of light. Unlike the animatronics though, his didn’t gaze down at her with animosity. No, he looked at her like a new play thing and with an eager anticipation. The security cap he was wearing shadowed part of his visage but the torn lipped grin was still evident, as were the cables skewering his jaws.

The phantom held his other arm back, what looked to be a part of an animatronic poised to strike her again. Reflexively Kyle drew her arms to defend herself, unfortunately this didn’t work in her favor as the blow struck her wounded arms. There was a sound thwack followed immediately by a pained scream that came from Kyle. She tried to hold back the next swing by grabbing the entity’s arm but her hand grabbed onto nothing. As they went through its form she felt a rush of terrifying emotion that weren’t her own.

She felt bloodlust and anger. But anger seemed to be taking a backseat to the sheer thrill this monstrosity was feeling. 

He struck her again nailing her shoulder, sending a new wave of fresh pain through her. Kyle didn’t give in, as much as her form wanted to, and managed grab onto the weapon. Her arm trembled under exertion, the phantom was stronger than its mangled appearance suggested. The purple man’s gaze seemed to hold a brief flicker of surprise that quickly turned into minor annoyance, and nothing more.

Kyle, pinned against the desk, trying holding back the phantom but she knew she couldn’t do it for long. She got an opening when the being ripped his arm back to free his weapon. Kyle willing released it and flung herself away as he struck it down. The metal animatronic part gave the edge of the desk a small dent, but little else. Kyle, chest heaving, hurriedly scrambled to her feet, terror driving her. 

The purple man turned his head to her, eyeing his prey a moment, as she scrambled to gain distance. His head twitched with the sound of bone popping and flesh shifting as he followed behind her. A raspy amused noise escaped through empty gaps were teeth used to be. Arm reeled back he struck her again, a blow to the back of her head was enough to cause the woman to crumple onto the ground.

With blacks shoe the phantom rolled her over. She was still conscious, barely, but still there. He examined the part he was wielding, a part for an animatronic’s leg, there was fresh blood splattering it now. The purple man leered down at her, time to finish this. Finish what the children could not for nights. Then again never send angry kids to do a killer’s job. The purple man pinned her down with his foot, some form of pressure instead of weight keeping her down. As he reeled back his weapon the phantom could feel the rush again, the thrill of holding a life in his hand and it being his to crush. 

The pain came back to his focus, but it only served to motivate him further. The phantom swung down again, and again, and again until there was noticeable crack. This got the killer to hold a moment’s pause to examine his victim. The female guard lay there, lifeless, head beaten in and bloodied. A small pool of dark red spreading onto the carpet from the open head injury. The phantom exhaled, pleased by his completed task. 

He shifted his head and this was enough to trigger another digging stab of pain. It stemmed from his neck and shot up right to the base of his skull, then darted right to the front of his mind. The killer gave a shrill hiss, his form twitching without him meaning to. With a growl he pushed forward, the phantom phasing right through the wall and out of the manager’s office. 

With the guard taken care of he’d get his chat with Puppet soon. In the meantime, he had a pizzeria to look over. The killer looked over his hand, the damage; exposed flesh and inner workings, not phasing him. His grin edged upwards at the ends as he clenched his hand, with this state of being his goal would be simple to achieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally phantom Purple Guy's reveal!


	31. One Sided Conversation

The music box played its song, with no guard to force it to rewind the merry little jingle working its way steadily to completion. Finally, the final notes played after the song “Pop Goes the Weasel” was played several times over. After the last note, there was a grave silence that hung in the air. The prize corner went unnaturally quiet with the lack of music to fill the void of silence. Soon the spirit that had been held captive inside the box quickly stirred awake. The lid of the purple and blue box lifted up, a pair of three black fingered hands gripped the edge of the box. 

Bright white orbs looked up from the crack and towards the camera that monitored him. He saw no red light to indicated he was being watched. This noted Puppet rose up, the lid silently falling back. With silent movement the gift giver stepped out of his box and slipped out of the prize corner. Seemingly gliding the marionette animatronic moved to the window of the security office. There was a flicker of surprise in Puppet’s eyes when there was no guard present inside, yet both of the doors were shut and the light still on.

Bewildered by this Puppet let out a quick cry to see if his friends could explain the phenomenon. Puppet continued to scrutinize the office as animatronic footsteps clunked towards him from down the hall. He noted the security tablet was not present and that the chair was toppled over. His friends had to have had something to do with this, regardless he needed to be updated on the situation. 

A warbled noise caused Puppet to turn his attention away from the security office. Chica was the possessed animatronic that had answered his call. In her left hand was her metal platter and on it was her minion Carl. Both of them looked at their leader, waiting for the reason of his call. Puppet merely gestured to the office and they understood what he wanted. Chica made some gestures with a few distorted inhuman noises.

Puppet of course understood perfectly, Mangle had chased the guards out but now, for some odd reason, his friends couldn’t locate them. Puppet pondered the situation but still found something very odd. He motioned to the doors with a questioningly soft hiss. Chica exchanged a glance with her minion but had no answer.

Chica watched as Puppet began moving down the hall and into the main party room. The chicken followed a few steps behind him with clunking steps. Puppet looked around the room as saw a few of them were missing. A shrill cry later and all the animatronics were gathered, aside from Golden Freddy. Puppet felt a pang of sadness, but more so relief that at least one of them had been allowed to rest.

Foxy, of course, was the one most aggravated with the lack of the guards not being located. The pirate fox snarled and snapped to showcase his displeasure. Puppet was unfazed by his display, but took it as a note that he had no new information to give. After a quick ask Puppet found that none of his friends had a clue where the guards where or how the doors had been shut at the same time. 

Puppet stood quietly, mulling this strange development over some more. His deliberation took too long for Foxy and the vulpine snapped and snarled some more, stepping forward to further emphasize his disapproval. The action got a loud reprimanding screech from Freddy, whose glare was enough to get the pirate to move back. Bonnie gave something akin to a half stifled giggle which earned an irate snap from Foxy. The guitarist simply stepped back a bit and gave no response in return.

While there was still a large unknown in the situation Puppet felt Foxy did have a point, despite being rash about it. Puppet instructed the others to recommence searching for their prey and to be thorough about it. His friends quickly spread out around the pizzeria, Carl hopping down from its plate to search on its own. 

Puppet stood at the entrance to the right hall a while longer, still puzzled. The doors had somehow been shut at the same time after the guards had been chased out. The tablet was gone so the guards had to have it, yet they’d allowed him to escape. None of his friends knew anything either.

With an irate hiss Puppet joined the others in the hunt for the guards. He needed to focus on finding the guards and killing them, details could be figured out later. The gift giver made his way to the back hall as none of his friends had come that way yet. Puppet found himself glaring at where the safe room door would be in the space of the empty wall. After a moment of silent anger Puppet tore his gaze away and glanced from the staff lounge door to the repair room. The guards surely knew Bonnie was likely to check the where the spare parts were, as such Puppet turned to head to the staff lounge. 

“Hey friend, over here.”

The marionette animatronic stalled and looked over his shoulder. Had that been Bonnie’s voice? Puppet turned around, head tilted slightly in confusion. Yes, he was certain that had been Bonnie’s animatronic voice coming from the maintenance room.

“Over here, this way friend.” The disembodied Bonnie voice insisted.

Suspicion instructed Puppet to stay where he was. He eyed the open doorway to the room. Clearly something was going on, but that had already been shown that. So, if he wanted an explanation following this voice may lead him to it. Carefully he took a step forward and the voice somehow noticed this.

“Yes, this way, come inside.”

Puppet did as he was instructed and entered the room, looking around it seemed like nothing was present aside from empty animatronic heads. Puppet turned around when the door was shut behind him. The animatronic stepped back, he’d already suspected another phantom’s involvement but this confirmed it.

“Turn around.” The Bonnie voice instructed, sounding merrily amused. The tone sparked agitation in Puppet but he continued to go along with the charade. Upon turning around, he was met with a grin made of both tooth and metal, and a voice he’d hope to never hear again, “Hey “friend”, it’s me!”

Puppet pulled back instantly with a both startled and furious hiss. The phantom was mangled and shredded but there was no mistaking the fact he was the Purple Guy, the killer of his friends. His reaction brought more amusement to the twisted figure’s face which in turn brought more anger to Puppet.

“Been a-hhh while.” The killer’s words were sporadically interrupted by pained rasps, something that pleased Puppet slightly. At least the monster of a man was now suffering as they were. The phantom’s grin turned knowing, “About-hhh a year, right?”

Puppet was slightly surprised the adult was aware of the time difference. Quickly though he decided not to question it and gave a displeased curt nod.

Oddly phantom Purple Guy seemed displeased by the confirmation and frowned. He gave a bitter, mock laugh, “Ain’t th-hhh-at fan fucking ta-hhh-stic?”

Not amused nor caring for the murderer’s aggravation Puppet caught his attention with a sharp hiss. Phantom Purple Guy stalled a moment, seeming to understand. The gift giver pointed back towards the office then back to him. The adult phantom grinned and nodded, “Yeah, heh-hhh, that was me.”

Puppet glared at the man and made a noise more similar to a wispy snarl.

Phantom Purple Guy tilted his head, his torn lips formed a crooked grin, he gestured towards himself; hands at the ends of a gaping hole at the center of his chest. “W-hhh-at? Y-hhh-ou th-think I’m after your hhh friends still?”

The phantom murderer’s form twitched and jittered, whether that was more due to his tormented state or amusement Puppet couldn’t tell. In silence the animatronic glowered as the phantom gave a smooth sigh. In seemingly a flicker of movement the murderer’s ghost was right in front of Puppet, decayed hand grabbing the back of his head.

“Talk about beating a dead hhh-orse kid.” The killer sneered cruelly. With no other choice Puppet looked into the murderer’s skull-like face. There was a demented, deranged gleam in the glowing orbs that served as his eyes. Yet, Puppet felt his gaze looked just as dead as when he’d been alive. With an angry hiss Puppet tried pulling away, but the phantom had a strong grip on his head and held him in place.

“I’ve killed your friends twi-hhh-ce over. Th-hhh-ere’s no more hhh fun left.” Puppet’s eyes burned with utter hatred and it was met with the man’s crooked grin. The phantom’s deep chuckles were heard as Puppet tried lunging at him, anger overriding what judgment he had. Amusement faded away to a dark look brewing in the phantom’s eyes. In a snap the Purple Guy slammed Puppet’s head into the repair table, a sound crack resulting from the impact.

The killer leaned in next to the side of the gift giver’s head, subtle sounds of bone popping occurred as he did so, “What the hhh-ell was that going to compli-shhh? In hhh case you forgot. I’m already dead.”

Puppet snarled defiantly as the murderer lifted him up. The killer straightened himself, cracking of what was assumed to be the killer’s spine sounded. With a sneering grin, he observed the crack now adorning Puppet’s mask. A seething hiss came from the animatronic’s leader while the man traced the crack, tsking, “A-hhh, well-hhh now, can’t h-ave that. How’s about I rep-hhh-air you,” a condescending laugh, “for old time’s sake?”

A demanding hiss came from Puppet, he swiped angrily at the killer’s hand as it reached to pull off the mask. The killer tauntingly held his hand in the air before unceremoniously tossing the possessed animatronic aside. Puppet managed to catch himself before he tumbled into the wall. Furious to the tenth degree the animatronic wiped around, eyes practically blazing. The child unable to even touch him the killer simply grinned in return.

Thumbs hooked on his belt loops the phantom continued, “Al-hhh-right, I’ll cut the shit. Y-hhh-ou and I both hhh want same th-ing.” The murderer’s tone turned serious, “To go back to sleep.” Disdainfully he gestured around them, “But we hhh-can’t with this place running.”

He held a hand up stopping any hissed remarks, “Now. Ain’t talk-hhh-ing about working toget-hhh-er.” The phantom scowled in a manner of vicious hate at the child possessed animatronic, “We both still hhh-ate one another after all…”

Puppet crossed his arms laxly, finally agreeing with something.

Purple Guy gave brief chuckle of amusement to this before continuing, “Good, we hhh-ave an un-derstanding. Now, I hhh-figure you get that hhh I killed the guard.” 

Puppet noted that the murderer thought that there was only one guard. It was understandable, during his time alive there’d only ever been one night guard at a time. Regardless of their shared goal Puppet wasn’t inclined to let him know of the second guard, on grounds of contempt. He gave a blunt hiss in response.

“Good, now, just k-keep your hhh friends out-hhh my way and we both get what we want.” The killer bartered with his crooked tooth and metal grin. Puppet gave no response, merely continuing to glare. Purple Guy went on, threat both evident in his tone and expression, “Or, I “dismantle” them.”

As to be expected Puppet took exception to this and gave a cry of hostility.

“Just a fair warning hhh-heh-heh.” The phantom sneered before abruptly vanishing from the room.

Puppet continued to glare poison tipped daggers towards the murderer’s direction for a good moment. Once he felt the phantom was gone for sure the marionette animatronic traced the crack on his mask. He gave a displeased hiss and went over to the metal shelves and picked up a spare. While Puppet didn’t know how to repair his body’s inner workings, despite him being the simplest, he did know how to swap masks. 

One mask change later Puppet opened the door to the repair room and left. He stalked back into the main party room, his friends still diligently searching. With a moment’s thought Puppet kept his meeting with their killer to himself. They were upset enough as is and there was nothing they could do about his presence.

 

In the safe room, the phantom murderer looked at his animatronic tomb, a withered and rotted wretched thing. So long as it was unable to move it was utterly useless, the fact it was sealed away aside. Purple Guy cracked his knuckles, he could fix that though. He knelt down before the suit and began setting to work on unlocking the joints. With his ethereal form he had no worries about injuries, making it easier to get it done by hand.

The effort seemed fruitless, but, should a need arise he’d rather his suit be ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but I felt this wouldn't have fit in with the rest of night six


	32. The Graveyard at Freddy's

Puppet hissed to himself, frustration reaching its highest point, it was almost dawn. Hours had passed with no sign of the other guard. Normally, this frustration would be due to the fact, that, after this any normal guard would never return. This time, it was because this opportunity would be wasted. Now with the killer on the loose, getting to the guard first on any other night was going to be difficult. They’d gotten a chance this time because he wasn’t aware of him. 

This guard would return, Puppet knew this, to taunt them. Adults liked to ensure that they suffered. This guard, Puppet had recognized him immediately despite how he’d aged. Puppet never forgot a face.

This one needed to die for abandoning them. It burned him inside to remember how one of his friends begged and he had just run away.

Puppet had thought after the power went out that they’d find the guard for sure. Yet, they hadn’t even heard the sound of frightened breathing. Puppet slinked his way back to the prize corner, with less than fifteen minutes left he was half contemplated just returning to his box. He put this thought on hold when he spotted the door to the prize corner supply closet. Silently he headed to closet instead of his box. Slowly with the turn of a knob he opened the door, Puppet’s hunch was quickly dismissed soon after.

The prize corner supply closet was a cluttered mess, the boxes stacked haphazardly. There wasn’t even any room for an adult to stand. Puppet shut the door and headed to his box, that had been the last place he hadn’t checked. Wherever the guard was hiding they apparently didn’t know about it.

Puppet called for his friends to cease their searching, they might as well enjoy their last ten minutes or so. Foxy he doubted would stop but that was on him. Puppet pulled the present lid closed and curled up around his Fredbear doll. The guard won for the night, but he couldn’t keep this up forever. He would die and this wretched hellhole would shut down, that’s all there was to it.

 

Mike wasn’t surprised when he found himself in a dream, or a more likely a nightmare. It was just a tad more surprising that he was lucid, able to control himself as if were awake. Mike pulled himself up from the ground, he’d “woken up” lying in the prize corner, the exact…Mike realized he was having trouble recalling what’d happened before he’d fallen asleep. Whatever it was…was important. Thinking about it caused Mike to begin feeling frantic, his stature tensed and his heartrate began picking up. Yet, he still recalled nothing. There was just this strong sensation of urgency in a blank spot in his mind. Mike shook his head and began to open the door to the closet, whatever it was he’d likely remember when he woke up. Mike stopped midway through opening the door, for some reason that thought didn’t sit well with him.

“Not like I have a choice in the matter…” Mike muttered to himself, he found that, typically, he wouldn’t wake up from the dreams through his own will. Usually something outside the dreams woke up him up, which was most of his alarm clock, or, more often, something killed him. 

Cautiously he glanced around the prize corner, almost expecting a nightmarish animatronic to lung at him and tear him apart limb from limb. This didn’t happen and Mike was allowed some time to take in his current reality. The alcove looked abandoned, dirt and dust coated the surroundings, the paint was peeling away; torn in some places, and cracks disrupted every surface possible. The stuffed animals that still sat on the shelves were in a sorry state, their false fur was caked and ragged, their stitching was coming undone leaving stuffing squeezing its way out, eyes and limbs were missing. Mike almost felt like he pitied them, these abandoned and dejected things left to rot, but he knew this was only a dream. Once he woke up they’d no longer exist.

Mike turned around the corner and stared at the puppet’s box, instead of purple and blue it looked more like two off shades of black and grey. He looked at the structure a moment, waiting for Puppet spring from it. When this didn’t happen Mike ventured close enough to get a look inside, the lid lying up turned behind it at an angle. Inside was a thick sheet of cobwebs and at the very center was a Golden Freddy doll. The plush toy laid nestled amongst layers of the silken webbing, like it had been gently tucked in.

The man felt urged to pick up the toy so he reached in and grabbed the doll. His fingers worked their way through the webbing, the white substance sticking to his hand, and pulled the Golden Freddy from its hold. Mildly disgusted, Mike removed as much of the substance from his hand and the doll that he could. Even afterwards the man felt the faint sensation of it clinging to his skin, almost like tiny fingers brushing against him. Mike gave his hand one more quick brush off before looking at the doll, it was worn but not as badly as the others; as if the cobwebs had somehow preserved it. The toy still had all it limbs and its stitching was still holding strong. The worst of its condition was its golden fur, dingy and small clumps were stuck together.

Mike fiddled with its purple top hat, it was slightly loose he noted, curious as to why this doll was inside Puppet’s home.

“Leave…”

Mike was left staring at the doll when a little girl’s voice seemingly came from its closed mouth, “Leave…it’s not safe here…leave…”

Hands trembling Mike protested, his voice shaky and weak, he knew who was speaking to him, “No…I can’t. I won’t!” He yelled, his resolve building itself up, “Not this time. I won’t run away…not this time,” Mike choked out his words, “not this time.”

The doll ignored his conviction, “Leave, stay away, leave, stay away,” it chanted in its distant and unnervingly emotionless voice.

“No!” Mike shouted, the doll fell silent, not caring about what lay in waiting for him in this subconscious reality. He gulped and took in a deep breath, the shout seeming to have emptied his lungs. Mike looked down at the doll pleadingly, “I can’t leave…please, please, just tell me how to help you. You and the others.”

Again the bear spoke but gave him no answer and continued trying to warn him away, “They’re angry. They’ll kill you. He’ll kill you. He’s here now…trapped with us. Angier than us.” 

The mention of this he caused something in Mike’s mind to resurface, he recalled what the phone call and the figure on the tablet. He held the stuffed bear closer to him, “He? The one you were panicked about on the phone?” When the bear gave no reply he pressed on, desperation strong in his voice, “The Purple Guy shown on the tablet?”

“Yes.” The answer was barely above a whisper.

“He’s the killer, isn’t he?” Mike questioned, his form trembling but from anger this time not fear or desperation. The bear didn’t get to answer, if she was going to, when an outcry of shrieks ripped through the air. Mike gritted his teeth at the interruption, his tormentors were on the move, sounds of metal parts moving heavy bodies and deep metallic cries filling the air. Mike looked back to the plush toy, hoping to squeeze another answer in before he had to bolt, but it was no longer in his hands. With wild franticness he looked around for the toy but it was nowhere to be seen, not in the box and not on the shelves. 

A metal growl like a revving engine from down the hall caused Mike to whip around, a yellow light shifting closer in the hall alerted him to Foxy. Of course it’s Foxy…Mike thought bitterly to himself, Damn fox never leaves me alone. 

He reached down and plucked his flashlight from his pocket. Over the years of being plagued by nightmares Mike had found the flashlight repelled the beasts. Perhaps it was because he related the flashlight with safety against animatronics, maybe not, all he knew was that it worked. Tensely Mike made his way to edge of the prize corner, he worked his lips before rushing out into the hall. The feral and ragged version of Foxy shrieked and recoiled back when light hit its eyes.

Just as quickly once the light was turned away, Mike having made it down the hall, the fox snarled viciously and rushed after him. Talon tipped metal feet crashing down onto the cracked and dirty tiled floor, propelling the beast quickly down the hall a few tiles breaking along the way.

Mike looked back over his shoulder and saw the glaring yellow eyes of the fox pinned right on him, the thing picking up speed at an alarming rate. It shrieked furiously at him and raised its elongated blade-like hook, the threat gesture far too clear for Mike’s tastes. The guard stunned Foxy’s nightmare doppelganger with the flashlight again, wanting lengthen the space between them. The thing cried as if its eyes had been burned and wiped at them with its metal hand.

A loud booming roar caused Mike to stall in his tracks. He turned his head and saw a bulkier version of Freddy at the end of a row of tables. Like Foxy this version had been given a nightmarish makeover, now boasting claws and enough teeth to make a crocodile jealous. Freddy’s jaws were so filled with teeth that it looked like it wouldn’t be able to close its mouth properly.

The bear monstrosity swung its arm out at the table in front of it, sending the old construct flying into the others, as it bellowed its loud cry. Mike knew they couldn’t actually kill him but the display of power still shook him, and the pain he experienced in this dreams ebbed into the waking world at times. To make matters worse Bonnie and Chica’s nightmare counterparts marched into the room, having heard Freddy’s roar. Mike clenched his flashlight when he saw at least three little cackling minions jumping around Chica’s feet.

“Great, gang’s all here…” Mike muttered to himself. From the hall Foxy shrieked causing Mike to turn his attention to his old enemy. With its alarming speed, the hellish pirate charged at him, making Mike duck away from the hook. Mike didn’t dare use the flashlight now, at closer ranges it tended to only piss nightmares off.

Mike jumped away when the beast snapped its gator-like jaws at him. The guard was forced to walk backwards, narrowly dodging the machine’s attacks, he couldn’t afford to turn his back on Foxy now. Mike gave a small gasp when the monstrosity managed to cut his shoulder, the one with his scar. The weak skin tore easily and the fresh wound bled quickly.

The guard swore he saw a sneering gleam in the fox’s eyes as it held its bladed hook high, aiming to slice into him. Mike jumped back and grunted when his back met with the front of the main stage, which was in dilapidated ruin. Foxy’s attack screech jogged him from his surprise and he moved to the side. The vulpine monster’s hook went through the hold stage with a loud smash, bits of wood flying into the air. 

While he was able Mike scooted away from the fox and turned to climb up. The red animatronic hissed and reached to grab him only recoil as bright light burned into its eyes. Furious and knowing its prey was near, Foxy leapt towards where its prey had been. Its attempt was rewarded with a fall onto the tiled ground, the brief recoil had been long enough for Mike to climb up onto the stage.

Mike stood back and took the time to blind the three other lumbering beasts before turning and booking it backstage. He wasn’t exactly proud but he’d gotten used to dealing with these monsters, thirty years was plenty of time to gather experience. In the first few years he’d been terrified, and quickly killed…horribly and brutally torn apart. Then as the first decade was coming to a close he lasted longer. After that he began lasting till his alarm clock, all a matter of practice. That said, nights when they showed up were never restful ones. 

At least Golden Freddy didn’t seem to be among them now.

A figure swung down from the ceiling, barely giving time for Mike to clumsily duck out of the way. When he looked back Mike grimaced, “Your in here too now…just wonderful. Now it’s really a party.”

Mangle’s now long neck made it look more like a serpent then a fox now. The its metal jaws exposed, rows of thin sharp teeth jutted out; fighting for space, it let out a warning hiss as it eyed him. Mike edged away from the creature, now spotting the second head; which bore a longer fang filled snout, waiting for the right moment to bolt.

Mike took his chances when the main head reared back to strike, quickly the guard shined his flashlight in its eyes and then in the second head’s right after. The twin heads shrieked painfully and retreated away. Mike, gripping his wounded shoulder, hurried past the ratty, hole riddled, red curtains. Mike was going to head right, but two more monstrosities blocked his path. It wasn’t a comforting sight to see Balloon Boy, looking like a gremlin, with claws much less Puppet.

Immediately, Mike changed direction and hooked a left. He didn’t look back as he heard a demented laugh. Claws raked into his back and with a cry of pain Mike fought to get the crazed Balloon Boy off his back. Mike ended up with cuts on his face as he grabbed the child animatronic by the worn propeller on its hat. The guard turned himself around and used the momentum to toss the stocky bot off of himself. He stunned the gremlin and Puppet too for good measure. The two gave shrill cries as and covered their sensitive eyes.

Just as Foxy leapt onto the stage Mike made a run for the left hall. Soon after he went down the steps to the back hall Mike slumped against the cold dusty wall. He knew he couldn’t rest long, not with the animatronic monsters just on the other end of the stage. This was a dream, yes, Mike was well aware of that, but the pain was so vivid. He could feel the cuts on his back, they weren’t right the bone-least he figured that-but they were no less painful. Mike looked to the blood from his shoulder wound that now coated his hand, a deep dark red, he could feel its warmth.

Mike cursed how detailed his nightmares were and the new additions to his torment. Three new monsters to contented with at night and right after his shifts at Freddy’s. He’d subjected himself to a volatile combination. Only vague solace being his nightmares weren’t always this bad. His last dream they’d looked almost normal.

A laugh exited his mouth, it lacked any humor and sounded almost unhinged. Mike tilted his head back, resting it against the cold dusty wall, “I gotta have a death wish…” He’d made his torment worse. Most likely he’d die because of it, but he couldn’t run away. Not again. Mike pushed himself away from the wall, “Have to keep moving.”

No sooner than he turned around Mike stopped when he spotted a new, yet familiar, animatronic. Standing in the hall was a purple, shadow enshrouded, Freddy look alike and, as always, it bore a leering grin made of human teeth. Mike felt a chill run its course as the enigmatic figure gave a deep, human, echoed chuckle, its jaws never moving as the noise was made. This was the first time the shadowy figure had ever gotten so close. Far as he could remember the figure had always been lurking in the background. 

Then Mike remembered the purple figure from the tablet and its grin and the old hybrid bear suit Golden Freddy, or rather Fredbear. The shadowy animatronic seemed to sense Mike’s realization and uttered its echoed laugh again. Before Mike could say anything the animatronic turned and ran down the back hall, its footsteps silent.

For a brief moment Mike was caught off guard by the sudden retreat. Once he got over the occurrence the guard ran after the entity, intent on getting answers from it-if able. If it wasn’t for the fact he was in a dream his wounds would have incapacitated him, now they were only painful hindrances. 

“Get back here!” Mike ordered, and was of course ignored by shadow Freddy. He continued to chase the figure down the hall the entity laughing every so often, as if they were simply playing a game of tag. The hall made turns at random and Mike did not question it and merely continued running after his target

Bastard is sure light on his feet…Mike thought as it seemed shadow Freddy was practically skipping his way down the never ending hall. The guard was jerked from his thoughts when the animatronic made a sudden right turn. The entity’s laugh echoed from the hall, quickly growing distant. The thought of the creature getting away cause Mike to gain a burst of speed to keep up.

Shadow Freddy looked to be half way down the hall when Mike caught sight of it again. The bear turned out its heel and, as it did, Mike blinked several times as its shape changed to that of a shadowy Bonnie, its bowtie a contrasting bright orchid purple. The bunny struck a pose like Mike was the audience for an unknown show. The exact same grin as the purple Freddy’s split open the animatronic’s face, contorting it to fit the grin.

Something about the bunny’s presence before him caused anger and panic to fill Mike like a rush of adrenaline. He gripped his hands tightly causing his finger nails to dig in, the drying blood getting caught underneath. 

The bunny bowed with one arm before it turned back on its heels and resumed the game of chase, its laughter filling the hall. Mike was quick to return to the pursuit, but try as he might; no matter how hard he ran, he couldn’t catch up to shadow Bonnie. The entity’s skipping was beginning to grate on the guard’s nerves, was this thing mocking him? Or did it really think this was all just a game?

Once more shadow Bonnie turned on its heels but continued on in a backwards fashion. Mike growled aloud, the bunny laughing mockingly, Now I know this bastard is taunting me! He thought in barely contained anger.

As the chase continued the twisting hall became more degraded, the cracks becoming more numerous; spreading out until they looked like spider webs, fewer decorative tiles remained on the walls, the colors faded to greys, dust and dirt coated the surroundings. By the time shadow Bonnie came to a stop Mike could see the dust cloud it kicked up by doing so. The bunny gestured to a door next to it in a manner of a show host to a prize, its other arm tucked behind its back.

The bunny was quick to slip into the room, the metal door opened with an old squeak of protest and shut with an even louder whine. Mike looked the door over as he reached it, unlike the rest of the surroundings it seemed sounder, sturdier, and less worn. Worn and faded white letters were painted at the upper center of the obstruction, reading “Safe Room: Staff Only”. 

Something about the door made Mike feel uneasy and he hesitated to reach for the door handle. Mike, hand trembling, nearly grabbed the door handle and the feeling only grew worse. Something terrible was on the other side of this door. Mike snapped his eyes shut, to get himself out of this uneasy state, and when he opened his eyes he took hold of handle. Before he could slip back into uncertainty Mike threw the door open and went inside, the loud whine of the hinges ringing in his ears.

Mike wasn’t ready for the sight he saw inside the room. Laying slumped against the wall were the animatronics. They were broken and beaten, damage bleeding blood instead of oil. Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, and Foxy’s heads weren’t even attached to their bodies and laid near them instead. The top of Chica’s head laid back while still hinged to its jaw while Freddy’s laid slump over its bottom jaw. Poor Bonnie was missing his face, leaving the face of the endoskeleton exposed. Foxy was the only one that simply laid next to its body, though; along with the others, it was missing its ears.

Puppet was the only animatronic not present, but in Mike’s shock he didn’t notice the absence.

Shadow Bonnie stood at the center of the room, arms tucked behind its back, seeming to have been waiting for Mike to arrive. For a moment the guard just stared at the morbid scene that was laid before him. A dark purple bunny stood tall amongst what undeniably looked like dead and butchered bodies. All of this illuminated by a single bulb at the center of the room that shadow Bonnie stood right underneath. It was a spotlight and the twistedly grinning bunny was standing center stage.

Mike gagged at the overwhelming smell of not only blood but decay of seven long dead bodies. He clenched his teeth when he saw the corner of shadow Bonnie’s crooked leer curl upward, more so than before. It was a twitch from Golden Freddy’s proverbial corpse that got Mike to take a step back. He looked around as golden lights began sparking in the animatronic’s eyes, the previously empty sockets filling up with the brilliant light.

They spoke, saying the same thing in unison; their jaws not once moving, Golden Freddy’s voice heard above the others. “I died here. My friends died here. He died here…We all died here.” 

Shadow Bonnie had joined in, the deep echoed tone dominating over the others. Soon after the others fell silent, the glow in their eyes dying. The shadowy entity took a step forward and that steps was enough to get Mike to raise his guard back up. Slowly the thing reached up to its face and dug its fingers in causing a disgusting squelching noise to be emitted. It was digging its fingers through its own skin. Mike didn’t question why the animatronic apparently had skin, the noise had revolted him enough that the fact was unimportant. 

“And you’ll join us.” The dark purple animatronic began to pull back, the dark shadowy layer being peeled off. Mike’s stomach turned its self into knots as the sickening sound of flesh being forcibly molted off filled the room. As the layer was peeled away a fresh new revolting scent of death greeted Mike’s nose with its rank odor. A rotted macabre visage was revealed behind the purple coating and it let out a shrill hiss at its release. 

Shadow Bonnie had given way to a rotted yellow-green bunny that looked far more fitting in Mike’s nightmare than the former version had. The old skin fell to the ground with a wet slap as the new horror stared Mike down, eyes lifeless and full of vicious intentions. The decayed bunny slouched forward, ready to pounce, and released a hostile hiss. 

Mike immediately backed up into the safe room door and opened it, while still facing the monster before him. The yellow Bonnie shrieked, charging after him with a blood curdling cry. Mike cursed under his breath and shoved the door closed. The animatronic was fast and tried pushing it open, tackling its body into the door. Mike nearly buckled and pushed back against it, the animatronic’s rank smell and snarling strong in his respective senses. By luck it being a dream Mike was just able to shut the door on the monster. 

With labored breaths Mike slumped down to the ground and sat against the stone cold door. He could hear the monstrosity snarling and hissing angrily behind the door, yet Mike felt somewhat at ease. The door was, somehow, locked, he was fine-for the moment at least. Mike let his head hang tiredly, he just had to wait till his alarm woke him up but he could hold out a just a little while longer.

“Mike.”

The guard’s head snapped up, sitting limply against the wall in front of him was Golden Freddy. Empty eyes stared back a Mike who returned the gaze with one of surprise. Wordlessly the man got to his feet and walked up to the limp animatronic suit. Mike stared down at Golden Freddy, the previous scene having left him speechless.

“He’s still here.”

Mike felt his hairs stand up from the foreboding words and the presence looming behind him. Before he could react something sharp stabbed into his throat, nearly going all the way through to the other side. A hand grabbed his side and pulled him back.

The safe room door had opened itself while he was not looking. He was pulled into the room that was now pitch black. Mike’s eyes focused on Golden Freddy as everything faded to black. Last thing he recalled was the metal door to the safe room slam shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two full chapters in a row! Longer chapter this time around to make up for the short previous chapter.  
> Wouldn't have split this one up anyway, it's best read in one go.


	33. Old Acquaintances

It was early morning, a while after six am, when Karen Santos opened the doors to Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria. She had a feeling she was going to find a mess today. Both Mike and the other guard’s cars were still parked in the lot. So Karen had grabbed her extra supplies carried under her free arm. She let the doors close behind her as she looked around the front, nothing so far, she didn’t even smell any blood. Karen gave a mental shrug, animatronics probably left the body in the parts and services room.

Karen fetched her mop and bucket from the closet in the left hall and headed towards the back. As she did she saw the animatronics were in their places. Foxy was hidden behind the cove’s show curtain and the main three were on stage, their heads bowed. Karen gave them a watchful eye and continued on, past six am or not she wasn’t going to just dismiss the killer possessed animatronics.

As she continued towards the back hall she noticed a thin speckled trail of blood. Like she’d expected it went into the mechanic’s room, but much to her surprise the spare Freddy suit wasn’t stuffed. The janitor stood in confusion, her mop and bucket waiting idly behind her. Karen went back out to the hall and with a bit of looking found the trail of blood instead headed to the employee lounge.

There we go, must’ve been trying to hide. Karen figured as she followed the trail. The smell of blood became apparent as she neared the manager’s office. While opening the door Karen figured she’d find a guard, or both, with a bite wound. She’d read from her parent’s notes that it was the way the animatronics killed the guards if they needed to be quick. Foxy was the bloodiest of the group, went without saying he was the most aggressive. It didn’t take long for Karen to spot Kyle’s lifeless body lying on the floor. She didn’t think much of it at first, until she spotted the bloodied animatronic part that was beside her.

As she went over to the murder scene Karen slipped a pair of gloves on before picking up the part. The janitor didn’t know much about the insides of an animatronic but it looked like part of a limb. There weren’t any other parts to be seen around the room and the part she held didn’t look like it’d been broken off something. Karen knelt down and examined Kyle’s body, her head had been beaten in with the part. The back of her skull was caved in and caked with dark, dried up, blood.

“Shit.” Karen swore to herself, this wasn’t a good sign. The animatronics were brutal and bloody killers. While this was no doubt not a quick death, this wasn’t the animatronic’s method of killing. Karen looked around the room again, just to check, and spotted Kyle’s phone lying in a corner. She swore to herself when she saw it’d been busted, now she couldn’t risk it. Karen placed the phone and part onto her cart before pulling out her cellphone.

After dialing a number, she waited somewhat impatiently. Her eyes glanced around the room, keeping a lookout for any slight movement. Three drawling ring of the phone later Karen’s call was answered, “Jones,” she said quickly, “we got a problem. Your old pal is back.”

There was a long moment of grim silence before an older voice answered, “What happened to make you certain? Last you said the current management had him sealed away like before.”

“He is.” Karen reiterated as she looked at the wall briefly. She stood in the middle of the room, a discomfort lurked in the air, and continued, “Unless the animatronics have taken to using their own spare parts to beat someone to death I doubt it was them. Also found the guard’s busted phone. This isn’t exactly their style. From what I’ve heard their usually pretty direct.”

A long tired and dismayed sigh come from the phone, “Yes, you’re right…” A grim tone was heavy in Jones’s voice, “I should’ve known he wouldn’t stay down.”

“So what now?” Karen asked, still keeping her eyes glancing around on occasion. She forced herself to calm and asked, “Burn it down like Fright?”

“I wish it were that simple…” Jones answered dully, “but this isn’t some horror attraction in an uncared for building. It doesn’t help that we weren’t sure about the activity until the first guard’s death…” The former manager muttered something somber to himself before he spoke up again, “We were lucky that Vargas assisted us last time. He’s refused to answer any calls, it’s clear he doesn’t want further involvement. I can’t blame him.”

“Still haven’t found where he lives?” Karen questioned. She headed out of the room, chatting with a body nearby was too off even for her. The cause of the conversation being just beyond a wall was an added reason to leave the room.

“No, the news didn’t exactly broadcast where he moved to. He’s been lying low, doesn’t want any more trouble.” Jones assumed. Karen could practically see him rubbing his eyes through the heavy tired tone in his voice. He’d told her of the nightmares that plagued him. She hadn’t had any herself, despite the time she’d worked at Fazbear’s Fright. Karen didn’t bother to question why; supernatural things were often finicky.

“Well, we’ll have to work on that.” Karen partly muttered. She looked around the lounge, recalling that Mike was supposed to have been with Kyle, “I haven’t found the other guard Mike Schmidt yet.”

“Mike Schmidt?” Jones echoed, “Sounds familiar…” he mulled it over for a moment, “Oh yes, he worked at the last establishment for a week.”

“Sounds about right.” Karen said mostly just to respond. She stopped, lowering the phone away from her ear while doing so, when a thud come from beyond the staff lounge door. Karen furrowed her brows downward as she wondered what could have caused it.

 

On the other end of the phone, Jones stalled a response as a crackle came from the cellphone. He looked at it in confusion, his reception was perfectly fine there shouldn’t be any disruption. Things got stranger as he thought he heard what sounded like words through the crackling that began going on and off. 

“H-H—ey, t-h-ere J-Jones.”

Jones’s eyes expanded to their widest point as all color drained from his face.

 

Karen had just exited the staff lounge when she heard what sounded like Jones dropping his phone. A loud clatter shot from her cellphone’s speaker, drawing her attention back to it. Once the sound had finished she brought her cell back up to her ear, “Jones? Hey Jones, everything alright?”

The janitor arched a brow when she heard Jones’s shaky voice, “Karen, please tell me you’d tried to speak me a moment ago…”

“No,” She began, now more confused, “I’d heard a noise and was going to check.”

Karen listened as Jones took a shaky breath, “Well then, I,” he steadied himself, “can say for certain that he’s active.”

“Care to say how?” Karen questioned, unease settling back into the air. She looked down the hall, the shadows were thicker back here. It was only natural but Karen felt like she was being watched. Her eyes examined the hall for anything out of place, but all she could gather was the feeling of eyes on her.

“He spoke to me over the phone.” 

Karen felt the back of her hair bristle, if that was true then the phantom had been up close to her. The janitor suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable, could it harm her during the day? She hadn’t heard of anything like that. This was insane, and the only reason Karen believed it was because of her parents and what had happened at Fazbear Fright.

“Nice of him to say hi.” She said, trying to recover from her fear by using sarcasm. Karen knew it wasn’t convincing but it helped her a bit.

A pause in the conversation as Karen moved herself to somewhere brighter, trying to ignore a feeling she was getting. She was using the old tactic of “ignore it and it’ll go away logic” and go somewhere bright, like a child. Karen had never been afraid of the boogeyman or things like that when she was young, she’d been exposed to the aftermath of real horrors. Now something was around but she couldn’t see it, a territory completely new to her.

Karen was in the main party room when Jones finally responded, “Just stay calm. You’re fine during the day. Deal with the head of security, and don’t forget to document what happened. See about getting information on the other two guards, I want to try and persuaded them out of working there.” The man gathered himself once more and there was a weak ring of gratitude in his voice, “And thank you again for the help.”

For the moment Karen snapped from her stupor. It was odd for her to address this sort of thing, that being gratitude, what with her position and all. Still the notion helped her even out her tone so Karen went along with it, albeit a little awkwardly at the end, “No problem. You helped me and my Mom out a lot after the last Freddy’s went down. Names changed and all.” 

“After what happened to your father it was the least I could do.” Jones responded, despondency faintly returning to his voice. It was quickly erased as he moved on, “Call back soon as your shift is over.”

“Right, call you back soon as I get home.” Karen replied before the call ended. She looked at the phone before she dialed her other boss, now to get the other thing out of the way. Karen perked when she heard the sound of something falling nearby. She looked over to where the sound was coming from, the prize corner. Karen canceled the call and opted to send a text message instead. Once that was done she went to see what was causing the noise.

 

Elsewhere in Hurricane, Jones sat on an old worn cushioned chair his once piercing eyes stared down at his cellphone. He swallowed a heavy stone and put the device onto his desk, not looking at it. He ran an old hand through his greyed hair and slowly shook his head. A heavy weight filled his chest and bared down on his shoulders, guilt threatening to crush him at any waking moment. Eyes distant, haunted, he looked back to his cellphone then slowly dragged his gaze over to a photo that sat on a book shelf; the shelves covered in dust due to neglect. 

The man pulled himself up from his chair with some effort. Had the past taken a different course Jones likely wouldn’t be frail as he is now, but through selfishness and cowardice he was a shell of his former self. The once shrewd business man was just a guilt ridden old fool.

The photo was kept in a simple frame and the image itself had some age to it, there’d been no preventing that. Four men were shown in it, himself included. Jones looked at himself with a mixture of wistfulness and repugnance. He averted his eyes from his own self to a man dressed in the old Fredbear hybrid suit, who was holding the mask in his hands. The lucky one, he’d been right to leave after the accident. The actor was wiser than he’d given him credit for. Jones briefly wondered what his life was like now, no doubt miles better than his.

Jones felt his gut twist itself into a tight knot and his chest give a slight clench as he brought himself to the Spring Bonnie actor, who held the mask against his chest. He actually looked cleaner in the capture moment, black hair combed back and clean shaven. It bothered Jones how normal he looked in the photo. His teeth were crooked but there was no outright indicator of that he was monster Jones knew him as. Of course he’d asked why later but he’d never given an actual answer, he had no reason to confide the reason for his undoubtable madness.

He should have pushed letting him go from the get go, but no, he’d let Arthur convince him to give him a chance. Arthur, the man in the center of the picture between the two actors while Jones himself stood off to the side. He was a short man, curly brown hair, eyes behind a pair of rectangular glasses. The man who watched his dream decay into a nightmare around him. It was no wonder Freddy’s fell so hard, the heart and long since broken and ultimately died.

Jones still dreaded the thought, that Arthur had learned the truth and then took his own life as a result.

He looked away from the photo and back to the cellphone. Once he’d thought it’d all been over thirty years ago. He couldn’t forget coming in that day, finding the animatronics broken apart, then finding Spring Bonnie with its former actor entombed inside. He’d found it bitterly fitting, that the device he’d used to lure and kill had been his demise. Then thirty years later, he’d returned as a more literal monster. Now, once again he’d returned.

Once again, it was his fault. After the last Freddy’s he’d given up the rights, left it out for any to claim that had enough money. He’d thought it’d been over with his death. After Fazbear’s Fright there was nothing he could do, it wasn’t in his hands anymore. All he could do was try and find a way to end things from the outside.

Jones held his forehead, he could hear their cries in his mind. They were always present, always blaming him and he accept the blame wholeheartedly. There was no denying to truth. He had to do this to atone for what he’d allow to happen. Thirty years wasn’t enough punishment, not enough for him, but at the least he’d find a way to end this.

That though brought him back to the present. He had work to do. He had to try and find the location of Isaac Vargas, the only person he knew to survive against the murder. Jones tried to steady himself to some success and got to work on his computer. He couldn’t help but give a glance to his cellphone as he began his search. The voice that’d come through it, haunting his thoughts, he hadn’t told Karen everything he’d heard. The voice had spoken to him as she’d talked, it’d been distorted but he understood.

“I’m still here. They won’t let me rest, I won’t let them live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one part chapter. Sorry but I felt this should be its own part, jumping from this to Mike wouldn't  
> flow right in my mind. Yeah, Mike's realization is coming up, get ready.


	34. Recollection

Mike Schmidt groaned, his body felt sore and tense all over. It felt like he’d slept in an uncomfortable position all night long. The thought caused a pause. He looked around, it was dark wherever he was, but not completely dark, there was faint traces of light coming through cracks between whatever was in front of him. A sudden rush of dreading realization he was tight in enclosed space. Mike wasn’t claustrophobic, but he didn’t like the feeling of waking up in a dark and tight space. Instinct took over and he tried pushing away whatever was pressed up against him.

This, turned out to be easier than his frightened mind expected. Something above him went tumbling away with a soft, and hollow, thud. Mike stopped and stared, surprised by this. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and moved to get up. On the other hand, getting up was not as easy. His body nearly immediately rejected moving with sharp pangs of stiffness and a stab of pain from his right arm. 

Surprised by this, his mind still drunk with sleep, Mike shifted his arm, freeing it from being pinned at his side, and looked at it. Even with his eyes squinted he couldn’t really make out what he was looking at. Tentatively he felt his arm and quickly he realized his forearm was wrapped in bandages. 

What? Was the first question that popped into his mind, followed shortly by, Why? 

Then, the events of what had happened prior him waking came flooding back to him, the mental block of his sleep induced daze giving way. For a moment Mike felt overwhelmed by the influx of information but it soon was replaced by sheer panic. Even with his body being stiff and pained, Mike began struggling feverishly to get himself free. The objects around him seemed to have varying weights, some being harder than others to move. Eventually Mike managed to get himself into a sitting position after finally getting enough leg room. Soon after the night guard, with a bit more struggling, pulled himself up. 

Mike held onto, what he now knew where boxes, as the door to the prize corner storage opened. Mike winced, his darkness adjusted eyes recoiling at the sudden introduction of light. Gradually, his sight readjusting, Mike realized that it was the janitor that had found him. This brought about the confirmation that it was in fact day time. Worry swelled up in Mike and he frantically fought to move the boxes out of the way. Soon aggravated by the objects stubbornness Mike snapped at the janitor, who’d seemed to just be staring at him, “Don’t just stand there! Help me out of here!”

The janitor didn’t seem certain that getting near the frantic guard was a good idea at first. Then after a couple moments she came over and helped moved the boxes out of the way. Soon as she did Mike grabbed onto her, startling her.

“Where’s Kyle, the other guard, where is she!” Mike demanded. The janitor, Karen as her name tag stated, stared at him. Either she was surprised by his sudden rashness or she was trying to think of a way to explain what’d happened. Mike cared for neither option, but disliked the latter one even more. His grip on the custodial worker tightened just a little more, just enough to emphasize his words, “Answer me…”

Karen looked at him a moment longer then said, “You want a lie or the truth?”

Mike narrowed his eyes at the janitor then light pushed her away, disgusted, “You’re in on it too then? Of course, you are,” He muttered, “someone has to clean up the blood.” Mike tensed, trying to brace himself for the worker’s answer, “And Kyle…? Tell me the truth.”

Karen looked at Mike, she could see his frame was all tensed up trying to brace himself for whatever news he was going to receive. The janitor mentally sighed, the guard wasn’t going to take the news she had for him well. Karen glanced towards the back of the building and said, “I don’t think you actually want to know.”

Mike ignored her words, barely having registered them after catching her glance towards the back. He pushed her aside and ran to towards the main party room and to the back hall. Once or twice he called for his shift partner, only to get no response. His calls reverberated throughout the pizzeria, due to its current emptiness, and were only accompanied by the sound of his own hurried footsteps. The animatronics greeted him wordlessly with their presence as Mike entered the main party room. The guard only gave them a passing glance to check if they had any blood on them. They didn’t, but Mike felt no better.

Karen watched Mike go then followed after him. She had to make sure he didn’t try and do something to scene before she could document it. Maybe, if she was fast enough, she could explain what Jones and her were planning. That is, if Gregor didn’t show up. Unfortunately, the man was awfully punctual. She hurried faster after Mike. 

Mike stormed through the door to the staff lounge, looking around wildly at the area empty of people. Then he caught the smell of blood, the bitter tang of metal, and he stared. Mike knew what’d happened now and he felt his heart drop, but he had to see. He couldn’t just turn away.

The world went completely silent around him. He couldn’t hear a thing as he slowly made his way over to the source of the smell. When he opened the door, its whine sounded like a grieving wail in his ears. Its condolences were lost on Mike as his eyes were immediately met with the sight of Kyle’s lifeless body. A faint, just barely audible, no slipped past Mike’s lips as he took a step into the room. Emotions arose within him and his heart was being crush by their simultaneous arrival.

“Kyle…No…” Mike fell into hysterics repeating no over, and over, again. He rushed over to his fallen comrade and collapsed onto his knees, picking her up limp body up by its shoulders. His heart fell as her head slumped back, and clenched upon sighting the gruesome wound that lead to her death. He may have only known her for a short period of time, but in that time, Kyle had been the first person he’d opened up to in thirty years. And he’d failed to protect her as she had protected him during his time of weakness. He’d failed again. He’d ran and hid when he should’ve gone to find her, made sure she was safe; but no. Coward, he thought.

“I’m so sorry.” Mike sobbed as he carefully closed Kyle’s eyes. The guard stayed there, on his knees holding her body. Tears of regret began slipping down the sides of his face. Mike squeezed his eyes shut and gently put her back down. Suddenly gripped by anguish he gripped his face, squeezing hard. Mike let out a rough noise of grief as pulled himself together, at least for the moment. 

Breath uneasy Mike noticed something nearby. A part of some sort. Mike was left a bit confused by this, what was it doing here?

Mike reached out and grabbed it, the cold metal chilling his moderately warm hand. As he turned it over Mike saw the red splotches of blood that coated one side. The realization that it was Kyle’s blood caused the guard to instantly drop the murder weapon out of shock. Mike stared at the metal object like it was something horrifying. He looked back to Kyle’s form, realizing the item had been used to kill her.

“Did you touch the part?” Mike looked up when he heard the accusatory tone of Karen. The janitor was standing in the doorway staring at him. With all the rushing emotions Mike, hadn’t realized he’d just left incriminating evidence on the murder weapon. 

That, however, wasn’t the biggest concern for Mike. No instead he stared past the janitor and at her cleaning supplies. In a flash the guard was on his feet with a look of fury on his face. Karen was taken aback by the drastic change in demeanor. With a heated snarl Mike glared at her, “Don’t you dare cover this up! I know you and your boss have already covered up one! I noticed how the occupation was taken up then reappeared a short while after!”

Caught off guard by the declaration, more so how he’d figured out what happened to Cole, Karen stared at him in surprise. Once she found her nerves again Karen attempted to talk the infuriated guard down, “Look, you’re upset, but I need you to listen to me.”

“Like hell I will!” Mike snapped, fully ready to stand his ground.

Karen bit back the urge to insult the man and kept her tone calm, “If you let me explain. I’m-” she stopped talking when she heard the pizzerias front doors open then close. It sounded like Gregor had arrived.

Momentarily Mike’s attention was diverted from Karen to the direction of the sound. He stiffened, the guard got the feeling the head of security had arrived. Gregor was the last person he wanted to deal with, or ever really. 

“Shit.” Mike flicked his attention back to Karen, why was she upset about her boss showing up? The janitor looked back to the guard, “Look, trust me or don’t trust me but just know I ain’t actually working for him.”

Mike looked at her with hard disbelief, “What? You honestly-” 

He stopped talking when Karen held her hand out to his face. Mike shot her a look, but hearing the approach of Gregor he stopped to consider the situation. Whether Karen was lying or not, now wasn’t a good time to argue. Though as they listened to Gregor’s steady approach he began to wonder, why would she tell him that? What would it possible to do to help them? Gain his trust so they could set him up? If that was it, Mike wasn’t about to trust their undertaker.

After a few minutes of waiting Gregor arrived in the manager’s room. He looked just about as lively as Mike did, and the faint stubble he was developing suggested he’d hadn’t bothered shaving recently. His uniform wasn’t on as neatly as Mike last recalled, but he hadn’t examined that aspect closely. The thought did bring Gregor’s worn out appearance together though, whether it was a new development or not.

Gregor examined the scene before him. His guard, the janitor, and a dead body in the same room with the two standing near it. He stepped into the room, his tired expression remaining neutral. Gregor looked at the body, noting the murder weapon a short way away from it. He looked from the part to Mike with a questioning look on his face. Gregor didn’t need to say anything aloud for the veteran guard to get the implication.

“Don’t even think it!” Mike snapped, posture going ridged out of defensiveness. Gregor didn’t give Mike any overt reaction, which only caused the guard to bristle more in agitation. Grief still strongly lingering in him the silent accusation deeply insulted Mike. Something that he wasn’t about to stand for, “How and why would you think I’d kill my shift partner! When killer animatronics are after my hide!”

“You don’t have the best history with the company Mike.” Gregor stated evenly. His eyes, though worn, looked at Mike with a certain sharpness that was almost unnerving. Gregor walked to the side to get a better look at the wound that killed Kyle, as he did he continued talking, “Maybe killing off the other guards to get us shut down as an act of revenge. You were the one that insisted on being scheduled with the other guards. Because you know how to handle the animatronics, at least the four main ones.”

He turned his attention to the bandages on Mike’s arm, “I see your injured. Did you get in a fight last night, Mike?”

Mike scowled at Gregor with a glare of loathing, “Why don’t you check the camera recordings? You’ll see that I didn’t kill her.”

“I would but the tablet is mysteriously missing from the security room.” Gregor mentioned. He looked at Mike now with a clearer hint of accusation. Mike stopped, the fact that the control tablet wasn’t present in the security office caught him off guard. This time even Karen gave Mike a slight glance. Gregor looked the guard up and down as if trying to determine whether he was capable of murder or not.

“If you want to prove to me that you didn’t kill Kyle then where’s the tablet Mike?” Gregor questioned flatly in a manner of an evenly spoken demand. 

Mangle, Mike recalled the animatronic had driven them out of the security room. Then Freddy had tossed him down the hall. Yes, he’d had the tablet with him. Mike recalled he’d heard the screen crack but was still functional, thankfully.

“I know where it is. I just left it somewhere.” Mike stated stiffly, honestly wanting to punch the guy rather than talk with him.

Gregor only eyed Mike for a minute, “Show me then.” He stated with a gesture for him to lead the way.

The guard was about to get going when he stopped, realizing his wording. He glanced by to the cleaner, Karen, and questioned, “What about her?”

“She has nothing to do with this, and she has a job to do.” Gregor stated with an underlying firmness. He gave a look to Karen that suggested she got to work doing her job. The janitor gave a passing look to Mike but nodded regardless. Mike stopped and stared at Karen as she went to go retrieve her janitorial cart. Next thing Karen knew was she was being blocked by an angry and distraught night guard.

“I told you before, and I’ll say it again. You’re not going to just cover her death up! I won’t allow it!” Mike protested vehemently as he blocked the doorway, where the cart sat just behind him.

“And what do you expect us to do?” Gregor challenged, still maintaining his off-putting calm, “If we do call the police, you’ll be put in jail. You were the only one here last night Mike, and she was clearly bludgeoned to death with that part.” He continued even when it looked like Mike wanted to interject. Gregor raised his voice a bit, to reinforce the fact he was speaking, “And if we were to show the surveillance footage, would that really help? You’d likely still get blamed for this, she was bludgeoned to death not bitten or even stuffed into a suit Mike. The supernatural isn’t something that holds up in an investigation, let alone court. Unless there was someone else here last night, things won’t look good for you.”

Gregor stopped speaking when he spotted a peculiar expression flitted across Mike’s face. It was enough to cause him to consider something. He eyed the man carefully, “There wasn’t anyone else here last night, right?”

The head of security didn’t notice it but Karen stiffened for a moment. The unsettling incident with the killer’s ghost speaking through her very own cellphone still too fresh in her mind. She shifted slightly in place to distract herself a little.

“I don’t know. I passed out after Golden Freddy attacked…” Mike answered stiffly, there was no other way of explaining how he wound up found in the prize corner stock room. If he said he fainted while hiding in there, it may jeopardize him staying. Something he couldn’t risk.

“Golden Freddy?” Gregor echoed with an arched brow. Mike nodded in confirmation. The head guard shook his head in disbelief, “No, that can’t be right. We don’t have that suit.”

“Then I had a pretty damn real hallucination.” Mike grunted bluntly. He narrowed his eyes at the younger man before him, “The other kids are here. Why not it? Maybe it was drawn here because of its friends, who knows? I’m not a spiritualist, medium, or whatever. All I know was that things were different last night. We saw a…figure on the tablet before shit hit the walls. It looked like another security guard, all purple, with the same eyes as the possessed animatronics. He came up from the back stage. I didn’t see it but he might have something to do with Kyle’s death.”

 

This time both Karen and Gregor felt themselves go ridged. Karen from experience and Gregor on a bad hunch of who that figure represented. He shoved the unease back, unwilling to show a sign of weakness. He gave Mike a questioning look, “A purple man? Was there any sign of a break in?”

“Not that I know of.” Mike answered. “We hadn’t heard anything but the animatronics last night.”

“And was the man actually purple on the camera? It sounds like a ridiculous claim.” Gregor pointed out skeptically.

Mike’s lips drew down in a frown. Out loud what he said did sound rather uncanny, a man with purple skin? Ridiculous. He held up a hand slightly and shook his head, showing that wasn’t what he meant. Even still he couldn’t find a way to explain what’d happen in a manner that didn’t sound just as ridiculous, “What happened was…odd. Even for this place, but, the camera…it-it changed. Looked almost like an old game.” He held up both hands when both Gregor and Karen gave more disbelieving expressions. “Just remember we’re dealing with ghosts.” After reminding them Mike continued, “Then the figure showed up on stage. I don’t actually know if he’s actually, purple.”

Gregor was silent for a moment before asking, “Any idea who this purple guy is?”

The way he asked it, the slightly off tone, made Mike think he had an idea himself but wanted Mike to either support or deny his theory. The guard himself thought carefully if he should say what he and Kyle had suspected. In the end, he decided to neither confirm nor deny, “I have an idea but don’t know for sure.”

This seemed to be enough for Gregor, but the answer didn’t seem to lift the grim look that’d begun to settle in his eyes. There was a noticeable shift in the air, like all of them had realized the something was lurking out sight. Gregor put the feeling aside in favor of continuing the conversation and pulled it back to the original issue, “So either someone broke in, or, we have a new problem. Regardless, you must let Karen do her job.”

Mike’s anger had waned a little over the previous discussion but now it had returned full force. He clenched his hands into fists, “What the hell is it with you? Why are you so damn hellbent on keeping this place open! To the point you’re just covering up horrible deaths! You’re doing the same damn thing as the last owner!”

It seemed Mike had touched a nerve as Gregor’s voice and posture stiffened slightly. His tone was hinted with warning, “I have my reasons, and you don’t need to know them. And what about you?”

“I’m trying to figure a way of stopping this! To free them!” Mike yelled, just about at his emotional wits end with Gregor. It was becoming harder and harder by the minute to keep himself from slugging the man. The problem was that the downsides to hitting him seemed so insignificant they were hardly even there.

“If that’s the case then we need to keep the pizzeria running.” Gregor stated in a cold uncaring manner. By doing so he tossed Mike’s own conviction right back at him. The guard froze in stunned disbelief, his eyes widened. He hadn’t expected his own words to be used against him in such a manner. Even Karen seemed to be stunned momentarily. Gregor narrowed his eyes at him, voice commanding, “Unless you want to debate this further, take me to the tablet.”

Mike’s lips twitched into a begrudging frown before the turned and stormed out of the room. Gregor let him leave ahead of him before he looked back to Karen, “Get your job done. I’ll handle your payment for this.”

“I’ll get right on it.” Karen said, maintain her indifferent tone. Gregor, suspecting nothing from her turned and followed Mike. Karen watched him go for a minute before turning back to her current task. She couldn’t say the sight was unsettling to her, or that it’d haunt her sleep, but the circumstance that lead to her death were troubling. Karen shook her head and got ready to do her job.

 

Mike’s mind was full of begrudging and loathing thoughts towards Gregor as he led the man now dubbed “bastard” in his mind to the security tablet. He hadn’t liked him prior, he was a variable carbon copy to the last owner at the time, but now he despised him. Mike hadn’t thought he’d ever hate anyone else more than himself but Gregor was challenging that now. The fact that he’d used his own motivations against him, to make him allow Kyle’s murder to be covered up was building hatred inside him. His motivation has been Kyle’s as well though, and Mike wasn’t certain how she’d react to this. Mike would never know how she felt, and that fact bothered him. It reminded him that Jessica would be without her love now. This whole situation was a despair filled mess. One that Mike alone was left to try and clean up.

He stopped at the entrance to the prize corner, the place where he had hidden himself. A fresh sense of guilt threatened to drown his anger, but the man behind himself froze the feeling in its tracks. Mike pressed forward to the stock room door. The once stacked boxes now laid in disarray due to Mike’s forced escape. Not caring about this Mike pushed some of the cardboard containers aside until he found what he was looking for. Up against the wall laid the cracked tablet.

As he held it in his hands Mike looked the device over, realizing it’d been turned off. Mike tapped the power button but got no response. Pensively he pressed down on the button, trying to urge the tablet awake. After a moment passed Mike realized the battery must have died. He turned his head to Gregor and grunted, “Battery is dead.”

Gregor took the tablet from his hands and, after eying it a moment, said, “That’s fine. I’ll charge it myself. I’ll just let the other day guard know to mind the battery.” Mike thought nothing of the mention of another day guard until Gregor said, “Which reminds me. I move one of the night guards to the day shift.”

“Fine by me, less for me to worry about.” Mike uttered dully, wanting to leave the premises of the pizzeria now.

“Leroy seemed too skittish and needed more money for his rent. So, I accepted his decision to move.” Gregor explained, to which Mike only half listened. The head of security looked at Mike questioningly, “Do you want me to move Harriette to tonight?”

Mike looked at him with shock, “What? No! You are god damned dense!” He huffed when Gregor hardly looked offended, “No, move her to me on Monday. I need a night at least to see what I’m dealing with. If anything at all.”

“I thought so,” Gregor stated then with a grimmer sense of foreboding asked, “But are you sure you want to deal with them all on your own? New threat or not.”

“I’ve dealt with them solo before.” Mike reminded him flatly.

“Not with them plus three others.” Gregor responded, now looking at his guard with a firm expression of warning.

Mike rolled his eyes, “Nice to know you actually do care.”

“I can’t afford to lose you Mike.” Gregor stated firmly and Mike was left unsurprised. The head of security looked at the veteran Fazbear guard sharply, “If you want to save them, if that is at all possible, don’t be reckless. Are you certain you can handle them all?”

“Of course not…” Mike muttered to himself at Gregor’s initial words. The rest of his words got him to think for a moment. It was possible that he’d have another episode, a panic attack, and this time he wouldn’t have Kyle to snap him out of it. Golden Freddy all night and in his nightmare warned him to stay away, that he would be killed if he kept coming back. No, he wasn’t backing down. He wasn’t running away once again. He couldn’t let Kyle’s death be in vain.

“I can handle them. Besides you need someone to keep an eye on them.” Mike answered with a worn but firm conviction. 

Gregor examined his guard and after a moderate stared down nodded, “Go get some rest then if the last few nights are anything to go by you’ll need it.”

“Fine…” Mike said dully, he was beginning to feel the wear of the night settling in again. Nightmares never left he feeling well rested and the emotional strain of what he was going through now was not doing him any favors. He sluggishly walked past Gregor and out into the prize corner. Mike stopped when he reached the end of the counter. Slowly he turned and looked back to Gregor, the man eying him, “There is one more thing.”

Before the younger adult could even ask Mike socked Gregor soundly in the face, sending the unprepared man crashing into the boxes. His fist shaking Mike tenderly rubbed his knuckles as he began to leave the prize corner again. Tone stiff with utter dislike Mike growled out, “That was for Kyle, and the other guard. I don’t give a rat’s ass what your reason is, when this is done you can burn for all I care.”

That said Mike left Gregor to pick himself up and marched out of the building. He didn’t bother to care about the man’s response, not like he was going to fire him. Gregor had just said he needed him, so Mike was sure that his position in the death trap of a pizzeria was secure. As such, not once did he look back as he left the building and got into his car.

Once he shut the door a thick silence filled Mike’s car. For a long while he sat there, stewing, in the silence. His hands on the steering wheel, keys not even in the ignition. Mike let his head fall onto the center of the steering wheel, and he let the unfinished tears from before fall from his face. The anger and hate melted from him and grief took both of their places, followed shortly by a bitter sense of failure. 

He'd let this happen, he’d let her down. Now all he could do was finished what they’d set out to accomplish.

Once he’d let enough of his sorrow out Mike put his keys in the ignition and headed home. He’d settle himself and try to come on how to deliver the news to Jessica. If she came to hate him then it was what he deserved. Enwrapped in his own thoughts Mike didn’t notice a car was following behind him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, over two weeks. Sorry guys, I got caught up in life. ^^;  
> Recently hoped onto the "Bendy and the Ink Machine" bandwagon. My deviant art account (same user name) has gotten and influx of watchers so I was trying to keep that going. All around busy. But, here's the newest chapter! I'm currently revising my other story "Reverse Falls: Who Are You?" so the new chapter production is focused on this. ;)


	35. Meet Up (part1)

Mike didn’t return to Kyle’s former home after he left his damn worthy job. No, he needed more time. The self-hating part of his mind hissed at him that it was out of cowardice. Instead he went to his small one floor home. It was almost a glorified trailer home, slightly raised off the ground and could probably only house two to three people at most. He parked his car on the curb, having no garage or driveway, and got out. As he trudged his way up to the front door he was greeted by a couple furry friends.

Recently a couple of young cats, that’d been kittens when he first met them, had been lingering around his home. At heart, he was a dog person, but he’d left his dog Markus, a Doberman, with his former girlfriend. Mike was sure she’d spoiled him to his very last day. The two cats, he was certain were siblings, had come mewling at him for food and he’d been feeding them since. What’d happened to their mother Mike didn’t know. He didn’t consider them his, he hadn’t gotten them collars, or named them, but they did have a habit of slipping inside when he headed in.

The cats, one black and white the other a dusty brown and white, darted around him as he neared the door. They mewed and cried for his attention or food. A quick glance at the bin he dumped their food in said it was attention. As he unlocked his door the black and white cat began rubbing up against his legs. Normally Mike would try and shoo them away but today he was much too tired to try. So, as he opened the door he just let the felines dart inside.

After grabbing a cold beer from the fridge, Mike slumped down into his small light, warm, brown two-seater couch. He cracked it open, staring at the turned off TV in front of him. The image of Kyle’s busted open skull stuck in his mind. It made his heart and gut wrench simultaneously. His conscience and heart both blamed himself for it. Mike wiped his sore and tired eyes before he tilted his head back and downed some of the intoxicating liquid. If he was going to get anything done, he needed his nerves to stop yelling at him. Although another part of him just wanted to drink himself to sleep.

Thankfully, despite his state of being emotionally tired, Mike’s sensible side said he didn’t need a hangover tonight. The veteran guard sat there, eyes locked on the TV as his mind went onto the thoughts of tonight’s shift. The dusty brown and white cat hopped onto the couch and rubbed up against his arm. It sniffed him then came across his bandaged arm and butted his arm again as a response. Mike stroked the cat but continued to stare forward. The young cat relaxed and laid on his lap, purring as Mike stroked it.

What was he going to be dealing with tonight? The animatronics he knew, but the purple man was unknown. Mike felt that he might’ve been what’d he’d seen following Kyle before Golden Freddy knocked him out. Unfortunately, the brief glimpses were all he had to go on and that was basically nothing. All he knew was he was likely dealing with a ghost and unless the killer went by the same rules as Golden Freddy, Mike didn’t how to handle him. It’d be a shot in the dark to use information he found on the internet as well. He’d be going in partly blind tonight. 

Mike took another drink and continued petting the cat that was on his lap, the action helping him relax. He spotted the other lying in front of the TV, watching him calmly. Mike guessed he’d been partly lying when he told Kyle he’d dealt with his nightmares for thirty-years on his own. Although the two cats had only showed up a few months ago, and he didn’t consider them his pets. They were just two critters that happened to live around his home, keeping the vermin out. A couple of times proudly showing him their success.

He thought back to what’d happened between him and Golden Freddy. Mike frowned, he didn’t understand why the phantom animatronic had done that. It’d knocked him out when he was going to save Kyle. Mike recalled the sympathetic look of sadness in what served as her eyes. Had the bear thought nothing could be done, that he wouldn’t have been able to save Kyle? Why save him though? He’d been safe, why hadn’t she saved Kyle? Then again, that’d be asking a child’s ghost to go against her own killer…

Mike downed another drink then looked over to his clunky old laptop that he’d managed to get at a pawnshop. He supposed he might as well try and dig up more information on Freddy’s. He looked down to the pocket were his cellphone was tucked away. He also needed to come up with a way to try and break the news to Jessica. Mike let out an exhale, everywhere he turned he was reminded of the rough place he was stuck in.

Both cats’ heads perked up when Mike’s doorbell rang. Mike arched a brow questioningly as he looked to the front door that was barely a few steps from his couch. The cat jumped off his lap and scurried off with its sibling somewhere deeper into his home. Mike stared at the door confusedly until the doorbell rang again. With the sense this person wasn’t about to leave the night guard got up from his couch and answered the front door. He didn’t recognize the young dark skinned woman outside his home, but it was better than his hunch of Gregor or Karen.

“Mike Schmidt?” Mike nodded mutely and the woman held her hand out, “I’m Harriette Lowell.”

“Harriette?” Mike echoed, the name ringing a bell in his mind. He blinked as he recalled, “You’re one of the other night guards.”

“Haven’t even had a shift yet, but yeah.” Harriette stated as she and Mike shook hands in greeting. She glanced inside his home and pointed inside, “May I come in?”

Mike looked at her then glanced to his home, it wasn’t exactly fit for company but he was curious about this visit. He stepped aside and let her in, “Go ahead but it’s not exactly spick and spam. I don’t have company over, ever.”

Harriette looked around the small home, while she didn’t seem too bothered she didn’t look too comfortable either. Politely she sat down on the couch. It being a two seater she didn’t seem too sure about it being appropriate. She was here for a reason and that reason was sure to bring about some tenseness. Thankfully Mike didn’t sit with her and instead sat on the edge of a table being used as an entertainment system. Harriette offered him a smile, “I’m fine.”

With a grunt Mike accepted the response, though he could tell it was slightly forced. What she thought of his home wasn’t his problem. He looked at her, she was younger than him but at least in her thirties. She was youthful and married, judging by the ring on her finger. Hair in dreadlocks and tied into a ponytail. Her clothing was nice from what he could tell, fashion wasn’t on Mike’s lists of things to care about. Not even close.

“So, what’s reason for this visit?” Mike asked, there wasn’t a way in the mind this was just a casual visit. The faint uneasy hints lining the woman’s expression only backed up his belief.

“It’s…about Freddy’s.” Harriette began slowly.

“Of course.” Mike muttered, he wasn’t in the mood today for this. Especially not after what’d happened at the pizzeria. The mere passing thought of it brought a painful pang to his heart. Guilt was still strongly present in him, and he was certain it was going to linger for some time to come. 

The woman looked at him for a minute, momentarily silenced by the bitterness in his tone. It was evident she was touching on a subject the man didn’t care for. For what reason, may or may not help her cause. Carefully she approached the subject, “Is the work condition bad or?”

Mike looked at her sternly, “I suggest getting a job elsewhere.”

Harriette frowned, “I can’t do that. I have personal reasons for getting the job.”

The veteran guard held her gaze for a moment. She looked serious very serious but Mike didn’t want another dead partner. He didn’t think he could handle that. Mike’s self-image was bad enough as is, one more blow was likely to break him. His tone stiffened to almost commanding, “Whatever your reason is, it won’t be worth it. Quit, and find a new job.”

Mike’s guest studied him, something about his demand seemed to be leading her to a conclusion. Harriette eyed him as she carefully, cautiously, asked, “Is it true then?” Mike stiffed as he poised to drink the beer he’d been holding, the action halted completely. Seeing this Harriett’s hunch was strengthened further. She straightened herself, expression both hesitant but nonetheless enticed, “About what happens in the pizzeria at night?”

“Would it get you to quit?” Mike asked in turn before taking a drink.

“No, now I have more reason to stay.” Mike looked at her, that wasn’t the answer he wanted. It looked like her conviction had been strengthened as she awaited his response.

Mike looked at her, a sigh roughly expelled from his nostrils. Mike set his jaw stiffly as he tensely thought over his response, and Harriette waited patiently. He fidgeted his foot, trying to find a reply that wouldn’t end him losing his temper. Or spilling what’d happened to his partner, he needed the place to stay open so he could free the spirits. It sickened him that it stayed open, people making a profit while lost souls suffered. Mike didn’t blame the patrons; they didn’t know any better. How could they? It was the management that held his contempt.

From his peripheral vision, he spotted vision he spotted the two cats warily peering into the living room from the hall that lead to Mike’s room. The two stretching their necks out only to pull back at random. Harriette must’ve spotted he was distracted as she glanced off towards where he was peering. If she thought anything about the feline’s presence she said nothing. The slight distraction was enough to give Mike a moment of reprieve to find the way he wanted to steer the conversation. It was simple, but his mind wasn’t in the best state currently.

“Mind me asking what your reason is?” Mike questioned, bringing the woman’s attention back to him. Her posture went ridged, more like when she’d first come in. Apparently, he’d put her on the spot. If only for a brief while after he’d asked his question.

“Because,” She began, her voice tensing up from some long kept anger, “that place needs to be shut down.”

Mike looked somewhat intrigued but not moved from his standpoint. He gave a low, thoughtful, hum as he looked down at his legs. The black and white cat had been bold enough to venture out from the hall and was now lying by his feet, eying their guest carefully. Mike finished off his drink and crumpled it in his hand. He walked over to the kitchen and dumped it into the garbage. Mike spoke to Harriette, as he fetched another beer can from his humming fridge, “And what? You plan on catching the animatronics on film?”

“Yes, it should get them to-” Harriette began, only to get cut off by Mike.

“Won’t work.” Mike stated flatly. The indignant expression on Harriette’s face told him to explain why, so he did, “The animatronics disrupt the cameras when they move around. Should do the same to a handheld camera.”

Harriette seemed irked by this news, but pressed the conversation forward, “Did you try recording them?”

“Last time I worked for Freddy’s, thirty years ago, I was young and just trying to hold out till my paycheck. Now, I’m trying to free them. So, no, I haven’t’.” Mike answered honestly. He sat back down on his makeshift entertainment system, cat still by his feet. Mike gave the woman a warning glare, “I’ll say it again. Quit. The animatronics aren’t things you should risk yourself against. You’re right to hate Fazbear’s, I’m sure you are considering the company, but your life isn’t worth it. I’m sure you have people who care about you.”

Harriette glanced at her wedding ring then back to Mike, “And what about you?”

A hollow, joyless, laugh escaped Mike. Without any warmth, he grinned down at the beer can he held. His eyes peered down into the dark insides of the can. He imagined it was like his life, the insides of this can. Dark and surrounded by unfeeling metal walls. Just barely keeping his head above water while hopelessly peering up at a small pocket of light, a way out, hope. Mike looked back up to Harriette. This young woman he’d just met but knew she had more promise in her life. Here she was, willing to risk her life because of whatever reason she loathed Freddy’s. It was concerning.

“No one will miss me.” Mike stated with earnest. He’d lost touch with his friends long ago. His childhood friend, Joseph, had stopped trying to reconnect with him after he formally pushed him away in person. He’d shown up on his doorstep five years after his time working at Freddy’s. Joseph had been clearly concerned, stating he needed help; truth be told he knew he did and still does, but Mike had literally shoved him out the door. He’d left girlfriend, Rebecca; he’d call her Becky, and she was probably with some lucky man by now. As for his family, he’d never known his mother and his father had died. Old fool had been older off when he’d had him and it wasn’t like he’d taken care of himself, his addiction only helped to end himself quicker. Once he’d gone Mike was left all alone with a curse threatening to drive him mad.

And now, the only person who’d cared about his miserable life had been killed by his cowardice. He assumed Jessica was could to hate his guts when he gave her the news. He was alone again with his torment.

He wouldn’t complain though, only in his weakest moments did he whine. Moments when he could hear their voices, when madness threatened to grab hold and never let go. They were always there though, he knew they were, he could feel it. The spirits tormenting him, or at least their curse, his punishment.

Harriette clearly hadn’t expected that response, she stared at him in shock. She glanced down to the cats and said, “What about your pets?”

“They aren’t my pets.” Mike answered passively, the alcohol helping to keep his tone detached. He gave the two furry critters a brief glance, one still at his feet the other still eyeing Harriette with caution from the hall. He took a drink then continued, “I feed them, that’s all.”

“That means their yours.” Harriette insisted. She’d come over to discuss working together to bring down Freddy’s, but instead she was concerned about this man’s wellbeing. The empty tone in his voice told her that he wholeheartedly meant what he’d said. Harriette was concerned the man was suicidal. She’d dealt with the issue with a friend when still in high school, it’d been terrifying.

“They aren’t.” Mike repeated, not budging whatsoever.

Mike looked empty in Harriette’s eyes now. Ironically, like a machine just working towards it’s designated objective while running on fumes. She felt uncertain about how to proceed. Harriette hadn’t known that the other guard on the roster was a guard that’d worked at the last Freddy’s location. At first she’d taken it as a bonus to her goal but now, seeing the result of working at that blasted pizzeria, left her unsettled. 

Still, maybe she could work with this. Get some information then decide how to go from there.

“Do you,” She began carefully, “have any about to set the ghosts free?”

A long sigh came from Mike as he stared down at the beer can again, though he seemed to be staring right through it, “Honestly? I ain’t got a clue. Just trying to find clues through the internet and by going to that place at night. Occasionally…weird things happen. One of the ghosts doesn’t seem hostile anymore, and I think it might have given me a hint in a dream…” Mike’s word faded out quickly as he caught himself. With an empty grin, he shook his head, “Heh, forget it. Sounded crazy I know.”

“Well, if ghosts are involved, and I do believe in them, I think I can suspend my disbelief.” Harriette reassured gently with a weak, uncertain, tone of amusement underlying her voice. She knew some basic things about spirits, but if any of that was correct…well, she couldn’t be sure. At this point Mike probably knew more than her, or his guesses would be more accurate at least. Regardless he had a better idea of what was going on. 

Mike eyed her, considering whether to tell her or not. When he opened his mouth, Harriette readied to take in whatever he was about to say, only to have him immediately shut his mouth. Mike shook his head, “No, I’m not talking. It’d only encourage you to stay.”

Harriette got to her feet, causing Mike to eye her carefully. Her words came out with some desperation, “Mike, let me help you. I don’t think you can do this on your own.”

“No,” Mike reiterated sternly. “I don’t want to have any more people die in that place.”

“That place has already taken lives of people I knew!” Harriette snapped, loudly enough that it seemed to jerk Mike out of his mournful state. Briefly, the woman seemed surprised by her own sudden anger. Her expression fell back into grief of her own and she slumped back down onto the couch. It was old, stiff and a bit uncomfortable with an aged smell coming from it, but she didn’t notice. Mike fell silent out of sympathy and allowed her a moment to gather herself. 

When she managed to speak again, her words were hardened with aged anger, and her form was just as stiff, “That damn fucking place took the lives of two of my friends, and my own blood. I…I can’t let it stay open. It was bad enough when they announced Fazbear’s Fright was going to open. That place, making money off people who suffered…god, people have no shame.” 

Harriette could feel tears working their way up but she smothered them before they could surface. For whatever reason, she felt crying in front of Mike wouldn’t help convince him she could face off against killer pizzeria mascots. Possibly from some old, outdated concept of machismo lingering on the edge of her mind. Harriette took in a breath and exhaled to calm herself. She looked back up, Mike was looking at her with understanding. Hopefully that meant she had a chance to convince him.

“Mike, I have to do this for the people I lost.” Harriette pleaded with an even voice.

For what seemed like forever, Mike just looked at her. Harriette could see the man quietly debating with himself whether he should allow it. Mike looked at the now empty can sitting beside him, pondering to himself on getting another. He sure felt like having another, but he didn’t want to risk getting to inebriated. Mike could handle having a few drinks, but right now he knew he’d just keep drinking if he didn’t put an end to it at the first few. Below the can, lying on the ground, the cat at his feet was looking up at him with bright blue eyes. Mike found this to have a vaguely comforting effect.

In the end, Mike sighed, “You’re an adult. Why’re you acting like you need my consent? I can’t make you do anything.” Before Harriette could take this as a stubborn blessing Mike’s tone became sharp, “I still don’t think you should keep the job, but, I can’t make you not come in on Monday night.”

Harriette frowned but assumed this was the best she’d get, “Fair enough.” She paused for brief few seconds then asked, “So, about that dream?”

Mike gave her a look, he guessed this meant she’d be showing up on Monday night. This didn’t sit well with him at all, but like he’d said he couldn’t make her not come. This left little reason not to tell her. The veteran guard grumbled to himself, “I think one of the kid’s spirits spoke to me through it. She said that their killer is stuck in there with’em, and that he’s more pissed than they are.” Harriette attention became more alert, she stood up straight and Mike noticed a vengeful look lurking in her gaze. Still he continued, “Saw all the animatronics busted up in a safe room. Said they all died in there, including him. This shadowy Bonnie looking animatronic…” Mike felt his stomach knot itself up once at the mere thought of that sickening and disturbing scene. He withheld a shudder but didn’t disguise the disgust on his face, “It peeled off the shadow layer to reveal this rotting yellow monster underneath.”

Harriette felt her face contort to mirror Mike’s revolution as he pantomimed the peeling motion. She stopped a moment, “Yellow? As in a yellow bunny?” Mike nodded mutely. Harriette frowned thoughtfully, “Reminds me of old Spring Bonnie.”

Mike quirked a brow, surprised she knew, “You know of it?”

“Yeah, I went to the place when I was real young. Got to see it while it was still used. Pretty much a retro Bonnie.” Harriette elaborated. She went on with a wistful smile of remembrance, “My uncle, he was a guard too.” Mike lifted his head a slightly at the mention. Harriette’s smile faded, “An entertainer too…He wore the Fredbear suit for a bit. He-he was a pretty big guy.”

“So you want to bring the restaurant down because they covered up his death?” Mike guessed, considering the circumstances and how the franchise handled the deaths.

“I almost wished it was that…” Harriette said bitterly, at least then her uncle’s name wouldn’t be so besmirched. Mike’s expression turned to one of confusion. Thankfully he didn’t need to ask as Harriette continued right on to explain, “His name was Frits Smith.”

Mike blinked in recognition, “He was the one they arrested for the crimes.”

“And he was innocent!” Harriette snapped almost out of reflex. She calmed when she saw Mike’s nonjudgmental expression. With words, full of sorrow, she continued to lament, “My uncle wouldn’t ever hurt a child! He cared for me and my cousins a lot…he wasn’t a saint. I know that, but he really turned around…” She gripped her own hand tightly, “He took all the blame and it didn’t solve anything. And I know who else could use the suits, I’m certain he was the killer. His name was Davey Moore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Purple Guy's name has been revealed. Yes, its a reference to the book. But little other than that as his character has little connection otherwise. Funny story, his name was a place holder but ended up sticking.


	36. Meet Up (part2)

It was harder than she expected, thinking back to thirty years ago. She’d just been a child then, not even in her double digits. But Harriette, remembered it well. Enough that she could recall details that most wouldn’t. Her memory wasn’t identic, but it severed her well enough to recall what she needed. What was hard was looking back on the memories. While they were sprinkled with confetti of bright friendly pastel colors and warm beckoning smells of foods. All this childish wonders were tarnish by what her adult self knew. The danger lurking around in plain sight, how close she herself had been to death.

Harriette forced her mind back to that time. She needed to, she had to tell Mike about Davey and how her uncle was innocent. Through what she’d experienced at the pizzeria. Mostly she wanted someone to believe her uncle’s innocence. It’d been terrible, having his name associated with such a crime over the years. When he’d been released there’d been some shift, but then he went missing and talks of a cohort arose. Then it’d gone right back to square one. To say it was painful for her family was a grievous understatement. It’d been downright torturous, even Harriette had found herself doubting her own uncle’s innocence and she still felt guilty for those times. 

“If it’s too much,” Mike’s voice broke her chain of thought. She looked up from her knees to the man across from her. He looked neutral but his brows were creased in concern. His frown deepened and his tone showed his consideration, “you don’t need to go on.”

Harriette shook her head solemnly, “No, I need to share this.”

 

The Puppet Marionette’s music box chimed ever so cheerfully as Harriette watched thin animatronic dance. She had a big smile on her face as she held her new Foxy plush doll. She’d been working hard to collect all the dolls and finally she’d saved up enough allowance to get Foxy. Her uncle had gotten her Freddy, and Fredbear, while her parents had gotten her Bonnie, Toy Freddy, Fun Time Foxy, Puppet, and Toy Bonnie. She’d gotten Chica, Spring Bonnie, Balloon Boy, and Toy Chica on her own. Now finally her collection was complete! 

She’d been watching Puppet dance for a while now. Harriette hadn’t ever seen him dance for so long before. Currently was just the two of them at the prize corner, the clerk had gone on break, but it only made this moment even more special. Puppet’s mask was kind of creepy, not that she’d ever said that aloud; that’d be rude, but she loved watching him dance. She wanted to dance like a ballerina too.

Out of nowhere Puppet came to a jerky halt, causing Harriette to blink in confusion. The motion almost seemed liked he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. A tall shadow fell over her, instantly she thought of her uncle and turned around happily. Only to stop when it wasn’t him. He was just as big but of a different ethnicity entirely and even then, his skin was unhealthily pale. Still, he was familiar so his presence was only a brief surprise.

“Hello, Davey.” Harriette greeted normally. He was one of the guards that worked with her uncle Fritz. She didn’t know him well, but he’d worked at Freddy’s since before her uncle had applied so they’d seen each other often- enough to know each other’s names. Though she liked the guard Bernie more, he’d give her a cupcake occasionally. Davey was always too busy because he was very important to the pizzeria. He took care of Freddy and his friends, helped with the shows often, and was a guard on top of it all!

Davey looked at her a moment then flashed a customary smile, “Hey kid,” his voice sounded like it’d been rubbed by sandpaper, but that’s just how it was, “I need to have a look at Puppet. Okay?”

Harriette furrowed her bow, why would he need to do that? She watched as he went behind the counter, even though she hadn’t said it was okay. Seemed a bit rude to her. Still she was curious and asked, “Why?”

The guard stood behind the still Puppet and smiled again, his hand landing with a heavy thud on Puppet’s back, “I’ve been told he’s been acting funny.”

The way he said funny seemed off to Harriette, and he’d looked right at the back of Puppet’s head when saying it. Harriette shook her head, “No he hasn’t.” The man looked back to her. With his attention, she explained, “He was dancing like he always does.”

A soft laugh came from Davey and he shook his head, “This is about other times.” He patted the back of Puppet’s head again with the same heaviness. He tilted his head to her and smiled softly with concern, “Me and the others are just worried.”

“What other times?” Harriette questioned curiously, concerned about the pierrot.

Davey seemed happy to dismiss her worry, “It’s nothing kid.” Pat. “He just seems off.” Pat. “Just not his usual self.” Pat. “I’m sure it’ll be cleared up real soon.” Pat. “And I’m going to make sure of that.”

Harriette watched Puppet’s thin form shake with each pat to its head. She blinked, the pats seemed a bit heavier than needed for some reason. Probably because Davey was bigger than skinny Puppet. Uncle Fritz’s pats were a bit heavy and he was around the same size as Davey. Deciding in her head that was the reason, Harriette moved on to showing off that she’d gotten the last doll she needed for her collection.

“I finally got Foxy!” She cheered.

“Good on yah.” Davey answered, sounding a little distracted by his current task of unfastening Puppet from his puppeteer’s cross.

Harriette didn’t notice this and kept talking to the guard as she petted her doll’s angular ears with her fingers, leaving faint finger trails in the red felt fur, “It’s extra special because I got him on the day of a birthday party!”

This time she caught the guard’s attention as he paused momentarily in his task before continuing, only Puppet’s arms left to unfasten, “Oh? You’re here for the birthday party today, hm? Friend of yours?”

Harriette nodded, “Uh-huh, well, he’s my brother’s friend, but plenty of my friends are here too! It’s a lot of fun! We’re all just playing games right now while we wait for the others and the cake!” She looked up at the guard with big doe eyes that practically sparkled with her built up excitement. “Are you going to be there for when they bring out the cake?”

Puppet no longer attached to his cross Davey hoisted him down and tucked the simple animatronic under his arm. He shook his head, much to Harriette’s disappointment, “Sadly, I’ll be busy with making sure Puppet’s okay kid. I’ve got to make sure he gets better.” When Harriette began to pout, he crouched down in front of her. Puppet got scrunched up at his side, his limbs sprawled out onto the checkered floor as a result. He offered her a smile, “Hey, I’m sure it’ll be a real special day without me. Besides I get to see plenty of birthdays here.”

“Harriette?” The young girl immediately whirled around to her uncle’s voice. Fritz Smith stood tall and built about the same as Davey. While he had called his niece, his eyes quickly locked on the senior guard. Davey smiled up at Fritz before he stood back up to his towering full height. Fritz only broke the unsaid stare down when his niece spoke up.

“I finally got Foxy uncle!” Harriette announced, with even more enthusiasm than she had with Davey. Much to her disappointed her uncle seemed more distracted than Davey had been with Puppet.

“That’s great angel.” He said in partial mutter as he recommenced eye contact with Davey. The other guard continued to simply smiled back at him, patiently waiting. Fritz glanced from Davey to his nice, then back to the other guard before finally turning to Harriette. He gestured to where the party appeared to be gathering, “Why don’t you go join up with the others?”

Harriette was about to leave when she stopped and asked, “You’re going to be there for the party right?”

Frits frowned uncertainly, “I’ll try to, but I’m on the clock right now angel. Boss is being real tight with us about staying on point. He catches me not doing my job and I could lose it. I promise I’ll give the birthday boy a happy birthday before he leaves alright?”

“Okay…” Harriette muttered moodily, her head hanging low.

“Hey, hey, now. No sour face.” Her uncle said insistently, his words getting his little niece to smile. Fritz patted her shoulder, giving a brief glance back towards Davey before saying, “Now you and Foxy go enjoy the party enough for the three of us, okay? Think you can do that?”

“Yep!” Harriette exclaimed, taking the request very literally. She quickly skipped off to the party table, holding onto on of Foxy’s stubby plush limbs so that he could skip with her. The pirate fox swung back and forth without so much as a protest.

At the table, most of the guests had arrived, only a couple weren’t present yet. The birthday boy had already arrived, of course, and was eagerly staring at his presents from his seat at the head of the table. The special birthday boy seat. Harriette looked back off towards where her uncle and Davey had been but saw the two were now gone. She frowned for a moment but distracted herself with some punch, both said they’d had jobs to do after all. The yummy fruit punch flavor perked her right up. It was tropical fruit punch, her favorite.

As she drank her juice Harriette looked around the table. The six year-old-girl was used to the sight of a birthday party at Freddy’s, but it always seemed just as magical. The plastic tablet cloth was covered in stars, confetti, and the mascots faces. Swirl colored balloons were tied in clusters of four at the end corners of the tables. Cone shaped party hats sat either on children’s heads or by their disposable paper plates. Harriette picked hers up, the hat was pink with yellow stars, and strapped it onto her head.

Musingly she hoped Leo, the birthday boy, would like the gift she got him. She’d bought him an toy of an action hero from a movie he’d seen recently. Harriette could see the blue wrapped present from where she was sitting, the little box at the bottom of a good pile of presents. She turned her eyes to Leo, he was talking excited to his two closer friends about something. It was hard to hear what it was with all the noise going on. 

“Hey, Harriette!” She turned and saw Cloe had come to sit next to her.

Harriette smiled in return, “Hello, Cloe!”

Cloe puffed her cheeks up, “Why didn’t you tell me you were here?”

Harriette giggled and stuck her tongue out at her, “You’re the one that didn’t notice!”

The two girls ended up giggling to each other with playful nudges getting exchanged playfully back and forth. Cloe had been one of Harriette’s friends since first grade. They played during recess and even had slumber parties together. Harriette also liked Cloe’s sister Alaine. It was easy for Harriette to get along with anyone, so she had a lot of friends but only a few of them were close to her. Cloe was certainly one of those. 

“You finally got Foxy?” Cloe asked excitedly, looking at the plush pirate fox that sat on Harriet’s lap.

Harriette nodded, “Yep!”

“He’s so cute! You’re so lucky! This means you have all of them!” Cloe exclaimed happily with a twinge of jealously. She huffed and pouted a bit, “Spring Bonnie and Fredbear are so expensive. I might never get them…and I haven’t even seen Toy Bonnie or Fun Time Foxy in forever.”

Harriette frowned, feeling sorry for her friend. When she got an idea, she smiled and exclaimed, “I’ll get you a Fredbear or Spring Bonnie for your birthday!”

Cloe’s blue eyes lit up, “What? Really!” Harriette nodded. With a happy squeal Cloe pulled her friend into a hug, “You’re the best!”

The two girls laughed but soon quieted when the lights dimmed, signaling the beginning of a show. Cloe and Harriette smiled widely at each other and watched as red show curtains on the stage pulled apart revealing the brightly colored animals behind them. Toy Freddy lumbered towards the front of the stage and addressed the crowd. Harriette remembered the old Freddy had noticeably heavier footsteps. Toy Freddy though, was shorter and rounder at the edges than his predecessor. Harriette liked the new Freddy a lot but she still liked old Freddy too, he just seemed realer than his shiny counterpart. 

“Hello girls and boys!” Toy Freddy began with a bubbly laugh as the kids hollered back their greetings. Freddy scanned the crowed, “I heard that we have a very special boy with us today!” He gasped and pointed as a spot light landed on Leo, “There he is! The birthday boy!” Toy Freddy looked about the crowd in an inquiring manner, asking, “You all know what we gotta sing for the birthday boy right?” A unanimous storm of answers came in and Toy Freddy nodded, “That’s right, we gotta sing Happy Birthday!”

In a mere moment, the party room was filled with the sound of animatronics and people singing happy birthday to Leo. During which a couple of Fazbear staff brought a large cake over to the party table to a rather shyly embarrassed Leo, who hid his blushing face behind his hands. Harriette and Cloe looked at each other and giggled about how cute that was to them. Harriette then began to tease Cloe about the crush she knew her friend had on the birthday boy, resulting in more playful nudging, laughing, and giggling. 

Harriette didn’t know that this would be the last time she’d ever see Cloe. She didn’t know when it happened, but after the birthday cake was cut, the presents opened, and they’d dispersed to play games…she vanished into thin air. Last Harriette remembered, she’d dared Cloe to tell Leo that she liked him. She’d ran off to go find him…and that was it.

It’d left little Harriette confused and upset. How could her friend just up and vanish like that? Where had she gone? Was she okay? She didn’t know, and they’d never find out. A little less than a week later it happened again. This time with another friend of hers, June. Her parents had arranged a play date to try and help her feel better. Katherine blamed herself when June vanished. She’d tried to feel better but she just couldn’t and went to go eat while June kept playing games. Her parents didn’t take her back to Freddy’s after that, and Harriette didn’t want to go back.

Freddy’s had taken two of her friends. After that, her collection of plush dolls lost its charm. In a fit, she tossed them into her closet, swearing to not hug them until her friends were found. The dolls would never see the light of day again. Especially after Harriette’s next loss…

 

“And then your uncle was arrested and charged for the disappearances?” Mike guessed somberly. Harriette had said she needed to share this, but, as she went through what’d happened the woman came closer to what looked like a break down. Right now, she was just barely hanging on to her frail composure. While Mike felt sympathy for Harriette, he felt more anger towards the killer. Whether that was Davey or Fritz, Mike didn’t know. He’d like to believe Harriette, he did, but she didn’t have any solid proof. Far as he knew they’d both killed the kids. Mike kept this thought to himself as Harriette nodded and continued to explain. 

“Yes, it was just a day after the last night guard Jeremy Fitzgerald “disappeared”. They arrested him after he covered the last day that would’ve been Jeremy’s shift.” Harriette explained tensely. Mike picked up on this resurgence of anger and took it as her previously shown anger towards the past events. Mike hadn’t expected exactly why it resurfaced. Harriette tightly gripped her own hand, voice shaking with resentment, “You know why they did?”

Mike hadn’t expected the sudden question. When he saw tensed up expression of barely held back emotion Mike knew he needed to give an answer. Mike thought back to the research he and Kyle had done on Freddy’s. His memory was left disarray from all that happened since then, but after a bit of mental digging he came up with the answer. 

“Someone made a call.” Mike answered, hesitantly he wondered what this’d lead to.

“Know who made that call?” Harriette questioned in response.

Mike didn’t like where this was going, but answered anyway, “No, I don’t.”

“Davey did,” Harriette answered with a low tone of loathing. She took in a sharp breath, calming herself to avoid going into a ranting outburst. Once Harriette felt she had herself under control she explained, “I remember my parents yelling in the living room. That Davey had told the officers he’d found my uncle in the saferoom. Trying to move the bodies. That he attacked him and injured him.”

Harriette hateful tone grew weaker as she went on, becoming sadder and more mournful as her uncle’s unknown fate began weighing down on her once again, “My parents visited him and when they came back I’ snuck up to their room. I listened as they said he’d been swearing that Davey had set him up. He said that none of the cops were listening to him. All of them were dead set on putting him in the chair.” 

“They wanted to take someone down for the crimes.” Mike surmised.

Harriette nodded sharply, she’d thought the same. She looked to Mike, waiting for his response. Harriette felt herself bristle at the thought he believed her uncle killed the kids and the other murdered people. She swallowed her apprehension and directly asked Mike, “Do you believe me?”

“I know just about as much as you do.” Mike began. Harriette formed a look of slight confusion on her expression at the indecisive answer. Mike shifted where he stood, moving his weight form one foot to another, “I didn’t know either of these guys. I think I might’ve seen Davey a couple of times while working at Freddy’s. That’s it though. We’ve got no solid proof for neither.”

Harriette immediately stood up and protested heatedly, “The killing started back up while my Uncle was in jail! He couldn’t have done that!”

Mike kept his tone even in face of her anger, “And I’m not saying he did that. I’m saying that I just can’t be sure. I’m trying to figure things out, and if I find out he didn’t do it then I’ll apologize.”

The promise settled Harriette some, though she still looked tense and irate. She wasn’t the only one tense now, both cats had gone on alert after her sudden movement and yelling. The one that had been near Mike bolted into the hall and retreated to his room with its sibling. Harriette watched the action and sat herself back down, “Alright, fine. One more thing, then I’ll leave.”

“That is?” Mike questioned, his voice beginning to develop a slur. The beer, long night, and emotional drain was beginning to take its toll. Least he’d gotten some info today. Nothing on how to free the kids but it was better than nothing. Especially since Mike was sure he was going to collapse after this conversation ended. 

Dammit, Mike thought in his sleep deprived aggravation. He knew what would be waiting for him soon as he passed out, Going to be a bad one tonight.

“I think I know where to find someone who can help us.” Harriette began, Mike lifted his head some in interest. “Isaac Vargas, might’ve heard of him.”

The name rang a bell somewhere in Mike’s mind, but with how sleep drunk it was he couldn’t be sure. He rubbed his eyes and responded in almost a mutter, “Sounds familiar yeah.”

“He’s the guy behind the Fazbear Fright fire.” Harriette explained. She could see how exhausted Mike was and she felt it imperative to wrap up soon before the poor man collapsed where he stood. When Mike nodded in response Harriette continued, “He might be able to help us with the Spring Bonnie-if it’s there.”

“And how do you think he can help?” Mike questioned. His eye lids were feeling increasingly heavy and as his eyes lazily drifted around the room he saw the shadows move. The shadows were big and had glowing eyes, all trained on him. Whispers were rising in his ears, none of them baring any kind words for him.

Harriette could see Mike was staring off towards a corner of the room. She glanced at it but saw nothing there. She dismissed this just as him being tired. More reason to finish what she had to say, “I heard rumor they’d found an animatronic, nearly a week before Isaac burned the place.”

“Certainly have kept an eye on things…” Mike commented drearily, his words more slogged down with a need for sleep than before. It wasn’t a big surprise to him that Harriette had kept tabs on things, considering her past with the franchise. Despite the information she was offering him, Mike still didn’t want her to get involved. He understood why she wanted revenge, but it may very well cost her life.

With Mike looking like he wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer Harriette escorted herself to the door. Mike groggily watched her open the door for herself. After she took a step into the doorway she looked back to the man, “I’ll try and talk to him today, see if he can help. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Yeah, fine.” Mike uttered. The shadows were all around, constantly moving, but always kept their eyes pinned on him. The voices were growing louder, some sounded like they were right up beside his ear. 

“Get some sleep, Mike.” He barely heard Harriette’s words over the chorus of ghostly whispers filling his ears. The images shifted around the open-door space before filling it as the door closed.

Now alone, save the cats, Mike lumbered over to the couch. No use avoiding it, might as well get it over with. He collapsed onto the old couch and his heavy eyelids fell shut. The whispers were at their clearest just before Mike succumbed to sleep.

“We’re waiting for you.”


	37. Price to Pay

Hurried footsteps echoed through the dirty, burnt, abandoned halls of a horror attraction that would never be. Isaac felt like his lungs were on fire, he’d been running nonstop since he got thrusted into this latest nightmare. Even after saving the children, during his role as fake nightguard at Fazbear’s Fright, he hadn’t been spared the unavoidable curse. While he’d appeased the children he certainly hadn’t left on good term with their killer, whom he’d taken pleasure in setting the bastard on fire. 

The saying “no good deed goes unpunished” came to mind in the results of his act. For a year, he’d tormented by visions and night terrors. Steadily both were getting somehow realer, more vivid and more lasting in impact. If that said anything about it mental state, he should probably should be worried. Isaac was; however, more worried about the unholy monstrosity that was charging down the halls after his blood! 

Its thunderous metal footsteps, accompanied by a harsh inhuman roar that shook the very walls, quickened Isaac’s heartbeat further. He pumped his legs harder, trying to keep the distance between him and the animatronic beast. Up ahead he spotted the door that lead to the front area, the part that was for the gift shop and eating. Isaac pushed forward and practically slammed himself into the hard-rusted metal door. 

The impact resulted in the push door being thrown open with a low moan, the hinges grinding up dirt and rust. Isaac hurried into a torched Freddy Fazbear’s party room, everything blackened with ash that was illuminated by weak lighting. He looked around wildly as the sound of a low, nearly demonic, rumble sounded behind him. The beast had stopped charging and now was steadily making its way to him. It knew he’d have a hard time escaping it in this room. There were no actual exits in this nightmare, all of them leading not to safety but a bricked-up wall. Isaac had essentially run himself into a big corner, but he had no other options. The game had gone from cat and mouse to delaying the inevitable.

Isaac looked around, trying to find someplace to hide. He didn’t have much in the way of choices. There was the giftshop, the stage curtains, tables, janitor closet, and a couple of registers. One of which led to the kitchen. If memory served correctly, the kitchen had a walk-in freezer. Isaac made a sharp turn and slid behind the counter before the monster even made it to the doorway. If he was lucky the thing wouldn’t notice him slip into the kitchen. If it did he could try locking it in the freezer, although the chances of that working were slim. He’d sooner get torn limb from limb than succeed. Which didn’t align with his goal: last long as possible. The longer he lasted, the more rested he’d feel when he awoke. Even if only a little more rested.

Isaac pressed his back up against the counter underside to hide himself in the dark. Thankfully with his short stature it was easier to do so. The metal footfalls had reached the doorway. Isaac stiffened when he saw light bleed out from underneath the door. A low rumble came from the other side as the lights swayed from side to side. 

What’s that monster up to? Isaac questioned as he craned his neck forward to get a look. He immediately recoiled back when the sound of shearing of metal against metal viscously assaulted his ears. He gritted his teeth as the noise became more painful as metal unwillingly crunched and crumpled. On reflex Isaac covered his ears as the door was torn from its hinges and tossed back into the horror attraction.

After a loud crash Isaac’s body impulsively readied itself to run, arms and legs coiling. He managed to sit himself still as the monster lumbered into view. Its joints whined and creaked as low ghastly growl came from it. In all purposes, it was Springtrap, only given new form by Isaac’s own mind. He knew it wasn’t the actual monster, he’d destroyed that when he burned the real Fazbear’s Fright to the ground. Even if it was a nightmare the threat felt far too real.

Isaac pressed his back up against the counter and carefully began to inch his way towards the kitchen door. He could feel the dirt, grime, and ash under his fingers and nails as he scooted his way over. The odor of death and decay mingled far too nicely with the already unpleasant aroma of the nightmarish Fazbear Fright. There was also a nauseating touch burnt flesh and building in the air. The former was much fouler than the later and caused Isaac’s stomach to twist itself into a nice knot. Isaac kept an even tighter seal on his mouth to keep himself from gagging in response.

While the door was near. Isaac kept his pace nice and slow, moving only whenever Springtrap’s nightmare double moved. The monster’s metallic footsteps and creaking easily covered up his own movement. By the sound of it Springtrap was slowly patrolling around the edge of the table area, checking if he was hiding under the tables.

“Come out, come out, and make this easy.” Isaac inwardly shuddered at Springtrap’s unnatural guttural voice. It wasn’t something that should come from an animatronic bunny, even in its current state, and carried a rasp that only seemed to accentuate his threat. In the real world, the actual Springtrap has spoken on a few occasions but the wheezing rasp had been much more prevalent. Typically, the ability to speak made things more human, more relatable, but Isaac new real or not both versions were monsters. 

Like hell, Isaac growled in his head. He was halfway to the door, nearly there!

Springtrap swung his head from side to side, his left ear nearly gone. Barely having any trace of suit left and wires hung out freely from the side. His prey was near; he could feel it. Where, was the question.

Isaac continued moving as he heard his hunter move further away from his location. His eyes pinned on the doorway, he was only a few inches away from it now. He stopped movement when he heard the monster had gone silent. He turned his eyes away from the door and glanced up towards the top of the counter, waiting for sounds of movement again.

Multiple simultaneous sharp scraping noises cause all of Isaac’s hair to stand on ends. He looked up towards the top of the counter at the end of it he saw Springtrap’s large looming figure. Quickly Isaac went still, he was so close to the door, and hoped the monster hadn’t spotted him just yet. He felt himself begin to sweat as the animatronic started to move towards his location, blade-like claws dragging along the counter top as he neared. Isaac tried to calm himself but Springtrap’s blazing eyes sent a tremble through him.

They were the eyes of a monster, bloodthirsty and incapable of empathy, and had been the eyes he’d seen tear him apart for the past year. He’d face him down, and still did, but it was hard to contain all fear after dying so many times to the same creature.

“I smell fear.” Isaac’s heartrate broke into a panic when Springtrap’s eyes locked right onto him. The creature opened its beartrap-like jaws and unleashed a piercing attack shriek. In a movement, far too quick for his large form, Springtrap leapt over the counter and landed with a heavy thud barely a couple feet from Isaac.

With grimace Isaac jumped and backed up towards the door, muttering, “Shit.”

A deep laugh came from Springtrap as he slowly stalked up to his now cornered prey. Virtually twice Isaac’s size Springtrap loomed over the man with his claws prepared to tear into him. The animatronic nightmare tauntingly splayed out the exposed metal claws, dancing them back and forth with a somehow wider sharp fanged grin. 

Springtrap leered at Isaac as he gave him a defiant glare. The notion his prey wasn’t going down without a fight amused the monster. With a sharp shove of his shoulder Isaac forced the kitchen door open and ran inside. He ran over to the freezer, now getting the idea to just lock himself into the container. Not like he’d literally die.

Isaac managed to reach the freezer door when Springtrap grabbed ahold of his arm and sharply yanked him back. Now in the hold of the monstrous animatronic struggle was a fruitless endeavor that Isaac perused regardless. If anything, out of sheer stubbornness. The defiance came to an end when the nightmare tore the knives it called claws into his torso. Tearing them from his upper body and down into his stomach. Isaac, stunned from the pain, gasped like a fish out of water, his eyes wide and staring at nothing.

Body over ridden with pain from his guts being torn into Isaac wasn’t sure how soon after but his neck was bitten into. He felt the gnarled teeth sinking to his throat and then pull. 

Knock. Knock

Isaac’s pale blue eyes flew open in a startled panic. Soon after he doubled over in pain, his stomach feeling like it’d actually been flayed open. He knew that this wasn’t the case but it sure felt like it was. His throat hurt badly enough that Isaac gripped it with one hand, rubbing his palm against the side to try and ease the tension. As he gasped faintly, Isaac stared up at the darkened ceiling of his apartment with some relief. At the very least he wasn’t in that nightmare world with that damned monster, for the time being.

He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead before he turned it to look at the digital clock sitting next to his TV. Isaac was relieved to see he had survived nearly five full hours with the thing. Not his best but it was better than three or less hours. Still he felt drained and sore from his body being tensed up for so long. The fact he’d fallen asleep on his couch didn’t help. Although, nowadays, it wasn’t so uncommon for him to fall asleep on his couch. He just didn’t care if he fell asleep on his bed or couch anymore.

A couple of knocks on his front door got Isaac to lift his head. The tired man grumbled to himself and rolled over on his couch, uninterested in answering the door. The knocks persisted and eventually annoyed Isaac into getting up. With an irate grunt, he pulled himself up from his couch and shambled to the door, muttering, “Alright, damn, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Isaac tried to stretch himself out as he walked over to the door, his neck, back, and shoulders specifically. The morning sun was practically blinding to him, Isaac had to shield his sensitive eyes with a hand. He squinted his eyes and saw there was a woman of African descent standing outside his door, who Isaac couldn’t tell if she was older or younger than him. Isaac rubbed an eye, furrowed his brows, and waited for her to state her business. 

“Isaac Vargas?” Harriette questioned as she looked over the short male. He seemed to be of some sort of Hispanic decent, least his appearance and surname suggested so. He had thin facial hair, shaggy black unkempt hair, and scars on his face- one being a cut on his upper lip. Isaac wore a wrinkled light grey sleeves top and baggy blue grey pajama pants. By the smell of it he was currently sweaty.

“Yeah?” Isaac grumbled, not caring to put in the effort to fake sounding enthused by the visit. She was probably some reporter or something wanting to know why he burned down the blasted horror attraction. Hallucinations, nightmares, and nosey people were things he had to put up with ever since he got that damn job at that damned place.

“I’m a guard at the current Freddy’s…” Harriette’s voice died off when Isaac’s expression hardened. She pulled back a step when he pointed at her sharply, despite his stature he was surprisingly forceful.

“Look, I told your boss that I’m done with Fazbear bullshit.” Isaac snapped. “I don’t care what’s happening, you and your company can fuck right off. I told him, if he digs himself a grave then it’s his own damn fault for bothering the dead!”

Harriette was at a loss for words. She’d thought she might encounter some aggression, the man had burned down a building. She’d also thought she might’ve been sent away immediately or out right ignored. The aggression she was being shown was more intense than she’d prepared for. His words added to the surprise. Harriette had heard people were upset about the pizzeria being brought back, but she hadn’t heard about someone confronting them. No doubt the manager had kept quiet about the visit.

She was jostled from her surprise and swapped to alarm when Isaac moved to shut his front door. In a snap, she held it open and jammed the doorway with her foot. Harriette held her mouth shut when a pained gasp wanted to shoot from it. She swallowed her pain and cut off Isaac before he could protest, “It’s about the kids Isaac.”

The man’s anger cooled and changed to cautious skepticism. He eyed her, carefully reading her expression. After a moment of silent debate Isaac released his hold on the door. His stiffness didn’t lighten up; however, and he made no move to invite Harriette into his home. There was a glare of warning in his eyes as he asked, “What kids?” 

“The missing kids, the victims.” Harriette elaborated. She almost felt dirty, using the kids to keep Isaac’s attention to further her revenge scheme. Though, two of them, were her friends, but she felt no better about it.

Isaac continued to examine her, judging if she was up to something or not. He decided to make her explain further, “What about them?”

“A coworker, Mike Schmidt, says the animatronics are still haunted.” Harriette answered. She noted a spark of surprise in Isaac’s hard light-blue eyes. It was quickly snuffed out by disbelief. The man shook his head, quick to turn down her statement. Harriette was certain she heard concern in his voice, like he didn’t want to think the kids were still suffering. 

“No, that can’t be true.” Isaac denied with another shake of his head. He turned to his thoughts, trying to decide if what she was saying was possible. Isaac winced like he’d heard something painful, inside his thoughts. The man muttered to himself, “they were…” He fiercely snapped his attention back to Harriette, “That can’t be right!”

“Mike saw it with his own eyes.” Harriette insisted carefully, wary of how Isaac would act if he got too upset.

Her words seemed to bring about more of a troubled shift to Isaac’s stern expression. He looked off to deliberate with his own thoughts. Concern clashed with his suspicion. Despite the clear worry, his apprehension won out after a couple silent moments. He cut Harriette a sharp look as he questioned her further, “He a night guard?”

Harriette nodded. Isaac continued his interrogation, “And why should I trust you? How do I know this isn’t a set up? Too have me show up at night and make me look crazy?”

The almost wild look in Isaac’s tired eyes, and unkempt appearance, didn’t help his question. Harriette couldn’t say she felt safe or comfortable around the man. Wanting to put more distance between them, she took another step back. The small amount of space felt like a whole foot of breathing room. Harriette raised her hands a little, to remind Isaac she wasn’t there to fight, just to talk, “Isaac, trust me, I’m not a big fan of Fazbear’s. Help me bring it down.”

“So you got yourself hired just to be able to get inside at night?” Isaac assumed. Harriette nodded. The man shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He gave her a sideways look, “This Mike, he a friend of yours?”

Harriette shook her head, “No. I only talked to him today to try and get his help.”

Isaac tilted his head, “So he’s survived a night with them?”

“Several actually,” Isaac looked at her with interest now, “He worked at the of the original Fazbear restaurants.”

“What’s he doing back there?” Isaac questioned, brows furrowed.

Harriette shrugged plainly, “Don’t know, I didn’t ask, but you can look his name up on the internet. Like you he’s pretty known in connection to Fazbear’s.”

“Good for him.” Isaac commented in dry sarcasm. Still he had a touch of curiosity as to why anyone would return to Fazbear’s, especially when he knew what waited for him at night. At the same time Isaac was more troubled that the kids were, possibly, still stuck in that damned pizzeria. He remained cautious, he didn’t trust anyone affiliated with that place. He needed to be sure before he thought about going back. He questioned the woman further, “He say anything else?”

After thinking back to the conversation that she and Mike had Harriette answered, “Not much. He was more insistent on telling me to quit than talking about his shift.”

“You should listen to his advice then.” Isaac agreed suddenly. He seemed almost amused by what he’d heard. At the very least, this Mike guy seemed legitimate. Anyone who’d gone up against the animatronics wouldn’t want anyone else to suffer through a night shift at that place. Thankfully they’d only hired him at Fazbear’s Fright. He’d only had to worry about his survival. Mike didn’t seem so lucky.

Harriette wanted to snap a remark back, protest, but instead chose to say something that she felt would catch Isaac’s attention-and it did.

“He said the killer is stuck with them too.” Isaac looked like a deer stuck in headlights. He just stood there staring at what he’d heard. Harriette could practically feel the underlying anger that emerged in his gaze. Anger was an understatement, not potent enough to match the look as the eyes. Hate was far more accurate. 

“Proof, get me proof that he is in there and I’ll help you.” Isaac stated, voice tempered with a restrained anger. 

“How are we supposed to do that?” Harriette questioned. Mike said recording wouldn’t work, so what were they supposed to do?

“Find a way.” Isaac snapped, his anger beginning to show through.

“Got it…” She said, deciding not to test the man’s temperament. Harriette took a step, readying to leave, “I’ll let Mike know.”

“He tell you why you should quit?” Isaac’s sudden question brought Harriette’s attention back to him. He was looking at her with a criticalness that made the woman stop. Harriette looked at the scars adorning him. One cut on his jaw; creating a rift between his facial hair, one on the bridge of his nose -possibly from breaking it-, and the one on his lip. The man had certainly been through a lot. Had all that damage been done by the animatronic he’d watched?

“Because I’ll be putting my life on the line.” Harriette answered. The way Isaac was looking at her though, made her think there was something else to it-but what else could possibly be at risk? Putting your life on the line was the end all thing to put at risk, right?

“He tell you what happens to guards that survive a night?” Isaac questioned. He heard something shifting behind him, right on cue. Isaac didn’t expect Harriette to react, he knew she couldn’t hear it. The smell of rotting, burnt, flesh wafted into his nose. Rusted mechanical part grinded together, making an aged creaking noise whine through the air. 

“No?” Harriett answered with a note of confusion.

Isaac leaned against his doorway, “Your life, isn’t the only thing at risk when you work the night shift. That place,” He made a tapping motion towards his head, “it affects your mind. Their anger, it clings to you and digs its way in. From my experience, nightmares start right after.”

“Nightmares?” Harriette questioned. Mike had looked very drained, and his tired appearance seemed to me a long-term thing. She seen that in her Uncle and grandparents. It was something that wore its away at someone’s face. Mike had clearly led a tiring and stressful life. Enough so that he seemed alone and felt no one would care if he was suddenly gone. Harriette wasn’t sure how nightmares could’ve caused such stress, lack of sleep yes but actual strain on mental health? Was that possible? She wasn’t so sure. She hadn’t heard of anything that severe. 

“Doesn’t sound like much, but these aren’t normal nightmares. They feel real.” Harriette felt a chill skitter down her spine at the emphasis Isaac put on the last two words. It was like he’d put all that he’d felt from the night terrors into two words. The point blank look he was giving her told Harriette the man was being completely serious. Isaac wasn’t done just yet though and continued, “Think about it. Days, weeks, months, a whole year, with vivid nightmares of being torn apart- limb from limb or guts spilled, by the same monster. Then waking up still feeling that pain.”

“How could you…?” Harriette began to question. The rest of her words failed to leave her mouth as she felt daunted by the intensity Isaac was giving off with his own words.

“If the mind thinks it’s real, then it’ll respond.” Isaac answered and as he said it, he felt the pain from his stomach and neck resurface. Not full force, but enough to make itself known. Behind him the sound of metal footsteps on his carpet rug had grown nearer. Ghostly rasps begun to enter his hearing, along with the opening and closing of an animatronic jaw. Isaac could feel lifeless eyes gazing at him, watching him intently.

“As time goes by, then you’ll start to see things. Not the ghosts, least I don’t think so, but hallucinations. Kind of like, extensions of their emotions.” Isaac explained, doing his best to ignore the one behind him. He’d had more than enough time to think his situation over since he’d burned down the attraction. While Isaac didn’t know if he was completely correct, he felt it explained what he was going through and that was enough for him.

Harriette didn’t know what to say. Mike and Isaac’s worn down appearance had a new gravity to them now. It wasn’t just because of lack of sleep. The men were being tormented by some form of curse. One both had been stuck with for long lengths of time. It was a surprise that they were still sane as they were, though she couldn’t say they were a hundred percent mentally sound. Harriette wasn’t certain which concerned her more, Mike’s apathy towards himself or Isaac’s hostility. Even though Isaac was calmer now she still couldn’t decide.

There were plenty of stories of vengeful spirits haunting people and driving them to madness. If that was true, then her friends Cloe and June were angry enough to kill or haunt people until their minds broke. Somehow, that thought hadn’t completely occurred to her. The memories she had of her friends had overshadowed any thoughts of how their tragic deaths might have affected them. Now the veil had been torn down and she felt a wave of grief come down on her. At the same time Harriette felt intimidated by the cost it would take to shut down the franchise that caused the grief.

Harriette still couldn’t find words to respond to what she’d been told. Her mind was too busy reeling with quickly paced thoughts to work on responding. Right now, she wanted to wrap up this conversation and leave. Now aware of the added risk, Harriette felt unnerved in a way she hadn’t experienced before. She didn’t know how to handle this. But, from a young age Harriette was stubborn. Once she set her mind to something she’d follow it through, like she had with collecting all the Fazbear dolls, despite any road bumps along the way. 

“I’ll talk to Mike about getting evidence.” Harriette said, not addressing what Isaac had told her about. She turned and began to walk across the outdoor walkway of the apartment complex Isaac lived at. It was still bright and sunny out but it felt gloomy around Isaac’s home, like a presence of something was sucking up all the warmth.

Isaac watched the woman leave, when she was more than halfway to the stairs he withdrew into his apartment and shut the door. He was a little curious about why the woman wanted to bring down the new Freddy’s. Whatever it was, it had to be personal and it wasn’t his place to ask. To him it was unlikely she just thought it was in bad taste, no he’d felt a drive behind her words. He could relate, but he had to be sure. If they brought him evidence, then he’d be more than happy to burn the pizzeria to the ground.

Still worn out Isaac was tempted to return to sleeping, but he didn’t want to drop himself into another nightmare. Instead he dragged himself into his kitchen with the intent of getting a soda or making some coffee. His kitchen looked like it needed some cleaning, there were dirty dishes piled in his sink and the garbage needed to be emptied out. With his lack of sleep Isaac’s cleaning habits had suffered significantly, but he managed to keep his home from being a complete pigsty.

Isaac pulled a clean glass out of his dishwasher and some premade ice coffee from his fridge. As he poured the liquid from the carton and into the glass he frowned as he heard the phantom creaking in the back ground. Isaac didn’t respond to it, telling himself that acknowledging the hallucination would do him no good. Ignoring it didn’t seem to do significant good but he was stubborn, refusing to go down without kicking and screaming first.

He then recalled the Fazbear worker had said the kid’s killer was trapped with them. Isaac felt himself stiffen at what he’d recalled about the monster. Springtrap had been a vicious, cruel, and foul creature. He wouldn’t doubt his attempt to burn him down along with Fazbear’s Fright had left him in a livid state. In many ways, the nightmare version of the monster was how he viewed him, it was created by his mind after all. It was hard for him to picture, and at times recall, he’d once been a living person. He, in part, refused to call him anything but a monster-something that needed to be destroyed. Isaac, growing up, had known men like that, or at least somewhat similar, men that did what they wanted regardless of the pain and suffering it caused.

When he was young his family was low-income and he’d lived on the bad part of a city. Life had been a fight for survival to avoid living out on the literal street. There Isaac had seen the worst of people: gangs, prostitution, and death. When his father had gotten lucky they’d moved so fast it’d practically happened over night. It’d taken Isaac a long time to adjust to not having to fight every day. Part of that mentality was still in him today.

Isaac lumbered back to his couch and took a long drink of his coffee. The creaking had followed him, close but not right up to him. He clicked on the TV, just to have the television noise drown out the sound of rasping and old mechanical joints shifting. As the TV droned on Isaac thought about the possibility of what was still going on at the pizzeria.

As if to answer his thoughts the hallucination rasped out, “I’m still here.”

“We’ll see.” Isaac resentfully muttered back in response, “If you are, I’ll just have to do a better job of destroying you.”

“I always come back.”

Isaac was unmoved by the response, “Can’t come back if there’s nothing left.”


	38. Day Guard

Leroy O’Conner arrived shortly before nine am. He wanted to make a good first impression on his first day of work. In all honesty, he was feeling a little excited! There was a mix of relief in his joy, he’d nearly panicked when Gregor had called him. When Gregor told him he had changed the schedule Leroy thought it meant he’d hired more people, meaning less hours for him. Thankfully, it turned out that he was just moving people around. Then, he made a sudden proposal.

“Would you mind being moved to the day shift?”

Leroy took a moment to process the sudden question. Last he saw they hadn’t been hiring new dayshift guards. He prompted for some explanation, “Um, what for?”

“Our manager, Griffith, isn’t feeling well and I’m filling in for him. So, I need someone to watch the pizzeria while I handle management. And, your personality doesn’t seem to be fitted for the night shift.”

Brows furrowed at the emphasis on “personality”. Leroy took it that he thought he was too sheepish to handle a job that could cause him to encounter danger. Leroy admitted to himself that he probably wouldn’t handle encountering a criminal well. Yes, he’d gone to shady places in the past when he indulged his addiction…but that didn’t make him brave. He was developing an athletic build through exercise; however, a fighter he was not. It especially worried him to encounter an intruder with a gun. At best, he’d figure he’d hide in the security room after calling the police. Perhaps he was selling himself short, but he didn’t want to overstate himself either. 

“Are you fine with the dayshift? You’ll still be full time, only difference is that you’ll have to help with costumers.” Gregor continued.

“Yes, I’m okay with that.” Leroy answered, he’d felt some apprehension ebb out of him. His worry about his job fading. After talking to some people, that he was kind of acquainted with- he’d spoken briefly with them while out on runs-he’d heard some concerning things about Freddy’s. The missing night guards, rumored to have been killed by the very animatronics they were supposed to guard, had been rather unsettling.

“Good, you’ll start tomorrow.” 

That was today. Leroy adjusted his black tie that he’d dug out from his shirt drawer. He’d worn it to last interview he’d gone to before Freddy’s. He’d forgotten where he’d left it so he’d been unable to wear it to his interview with Gregor. Leroy nervously fixed the sleeves of his dark purple shirt. The fabric was still stiff from never being used, it felt like he was wearing a thin layer of cardboard! The pants were no better either.

How much starch did they use on these? Leroy mentally shrugged. Oh, well, they’ll loosen up eventually.

The pizzeria had a different feel from when he’d first come in for his interview. There weren’t any songs being played or costumers milling about the building. The air held a thick almost unwelcoming feeling. Leroy’s smile dimmed briefly as he entered, he perked back up a little as he waved to the woman at the front desk. As he walked to the security room it quickly died back down. The air had a subtle chill to it that seemed grow as he went deeper into the building. Something he realized when he saw Gregor wasn’t in the security room, now he’d have to look for him.

Leroy was about to head down the right hall when he recalled Puppet. Quickly he avoided going down that hall and instead headed down the left one. As he entered the main party room he stopped and noticed Pirate Cove. The starry lavender curtain closed around the small stage. Leroy had been told that this was Foxy the Pirate Fox’s home, so to speak. Leroy felt a bit of curiosity poke at him and he examined the outside of the stage. Up at the front of the stage was a wooden sign with the animatronic’s show times.

The new day shift guard stepped back, looking up and down the stage. Leroy walked up to the stage and peeked behind the curtains. He didn’t attempt to hide the fact he was doing so, he worked here after all. What harm could looking do? Wasn’t like he aimed to touch the animatronic or mess with it in any way.

As he pulled back the curtain Leroy was treated with the sight of Foxy the Pirate. The animatronic’s head was down, like it was sleeping standing up. The robot seemed to be slouching forward a little. Longer tuffs of red fur sat on its slumped shoulders. It was a little awe inspiring to see one of the animatronics up this close. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at any of them before.

Quickly Foxy’s hook caught Leroy’s eye, it looked like it was actually sharp? That couldn’t be right.

Leroy moved his position to try and get a better look at the fox’s face. Just as he leaned forward to try and angle his head a little he felt a couple of taps on his shoulder. Startled Leroy jumped and turned around in surprise. He was met with the sight of the janitor with her mop.

“Oh, hello.” Leroy greeted clumsily with an awkward smile. He hadn’t been doing anything wrong yet he felt like he’d been caught, like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar.

“What’re you doing?” Karen questioned with an arched brow. This was one of the guard’s she was supposed to get the contact information of. Information she’d gotten while being left alone to clean up Kyle’s death. Though now she wasn’t so sure if that information was needed, seeing that he’d been moved to the day shift.

Leroy pointed back to Foxy as he faced the janitor, “I was just getting a look at Foxy.”

Karen looked at him then to Pirate’s Cove. Her eyes lingered on the cove for a moment before she finally looked back to Leroy. The man seemed a tad confused but she ignored it, “You looking for your supervisor, Gregor?”

Leroy nodded, “Yeah.” He glanced about, the chill in the air was more apparent now. He disregarded it, they’d had rain last night only naturally there’d be a nip in the air right now. “Do you know where he is?”

“Yeah, he’s in the manager’s office right now.” Karen explained as she motioned for him to follow. While she led Leroy out of the main party room Karen glanced back. From the cracks between the curtain she saw Foxy had raised its head a bit, just enough to glare at them both. Slowly the curtain shut, blocking the fox from view. 

Karen forced herself to look back forward, but she could feel the eyes of Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica following them. She made sure she didn’t check to see if the three animatronic’s heads were turning in time with them. This was the first time she’d actually seen something paranormal. It made her wonder how her parents put up with it for so long. Then again, she’d always thought they were crazy. This further confirmed it, she’d never seen a glare so full of hate before.

Leroy was led by janitor to the staff room where she excused herself back to her duty. He watched her as she briskly walked down the hall towards the left end. He blinked, she seemed to be in a rush but they had an hour till opening. Leroy shrugged, it wasn’t any of his business what end of the party room she reentered through, or if she was in a rush to get work done. He could understand the last one especially.

The sharp toxic smell of cleaning chemicals was the first thing Leroy noticed as he entered the staff room. He reeled back as he felt his head spin for a moment once his senses registered the scent. Leroy rubbed his nose as if that would rid it of the foul odor. He shook his head to regather himself and headed over to the manager’s office. 

There wasn’t anyone else present at the pizzeria other than him, the janitor, and Gregor. That’s what the vacant staff room suggested anyway, Leroy was certain that the rest of the staff would be arriving soon. He had arrived early after all, in hopes of getting a little extra time to learn how to do his job. No better time than to talk to his supervisor while no one else was around.

The doorway to the manager’s office was cracked open, to allow the noxious fumes to air out. Leroy leaned his head into the doorway, checking if his supervisor was indeed present inside. There at the desk sat Gregor, which Leroy noticed looked exhausted beyond belief. Hard not to notice the dark bags under his eyes, visible due to him not wearing his security cap. Leroy hesitated entering now. He didn’t want to disturb the man when he looked so worn out. Leroy knew he wouldn’t want to be bothered when he was so tired. Maybe he didn’t need to ask for tips on his job. After all, how hard could staring at a security monitor for several hours be?

“Are you going to just stand there or come in?” Gregor grumbled as he typed away at the manager’s computer. He fought against rubbing his eyes as he looked at the monitor. It felt like the dull light was acidic to look at, stinging his eyesight. His head was stuffed full of what felt stiff cotton as he turned his attention drearily to Leroy. Gregor ignored the concerned look he was receiving, that Leroy was vainly trying to cover up by looking slightly off to the side. He knew he looked like shit. He’d hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since Freddy’s had opened. What was barely a week had blurred into one increasingly bad nightmare. Undoubtedly, that much stress and lack of sleep didn’t make one look to easy on the eyes. Not like Leroy would find out what was going on anyway.

“I just wanted to ask if you could give me a bit of a rundown on how to use the security tablet…?”

Gregor looked at him with the expression of someone that’d been rudely woken from their sleep. “It’s not hard. You can figure it out just by looking at it. All you do is press the camera buttons.”

Not wanting to upset his supervisor on the first day Leroy swallowed any insistence and nodded, “I’ll just go look it over before we open…” 

“You do that.” Gregor muttered as he turned his attention back to the computer screen. He was just about done managing the money and getting Karen her payment. It took longer than he wanted to get the money sorted out, the fumes from the cleaning supplies and lack of sleep didn’t help. Gregor knew he’d have to come back and double check later, preferably after getting some coffee in his system.

“Right.” Leroy said to himself as he turned and left. He pensively thinned his lips as he headed back down the hall. First day on the job and he’d already managed to annoy his supervisor. Way to go, Leroy. He thought to himself with a mental groan. Leroy shook his head, dispelling any negative thoughts, he was getting himself worked up for nothing. Gregor was just tired. He’d caught him at a bad time. This was nothing that’d jeopardize his job.

Satisfied with that assurance Leroy straightened his posture and headed to the security office. He sat down in the chair and took a moment to get aquatinted with the room. The Freddy Fazbear paraphernalia was welcoming and friendly enough. Leroy reached over and picked up a six-inch figure of Bonnie holding his guitar, the hard plastic feeling lightly textured to the touch. He gave a soft laugh. Leroy had to admit it was a cute and well-made figure. He placed it back down and turned around in the swivel chair and gave the posters a look over, he noted they looked worn at the edges. 

Must be from the original pizzeria chain, He thought. That was kind of interesting, helped with the authenticity Leroy figured. 

The strangest thing he saw was the large gaping hole of a vent that was above the security desk. Leroy stared at it, trying and failing to figure out why the pizzeria would need such a large ventilation system.

Below it Leroy spotted the security tablet. Putting his confusion about the vent aside, and put his focus on what he’d arrived early to do. When he picked up the thin device he was surprised to find a thin crack going down the screen. He also noted that the tablet was currently attached to a charge cord that stretched down underneath the tablet and to the electrical socket. Leroy pressed the power button at the side of the screen and the tablet started to boot up. 

“Oh good, it still works.” Leroy said to himself as he pressed on a camera button. Gregor hadn’t been lying when he said the security system was simple. Then he noticed something odd, a button reading “vent”. 

With a blank look Leroy pressed it, to his surprise it showed a camera point-of-view from inside the vent! Leroy was flabbergasted. Why would a pizzeria need a camera inside of a vent? It’s not like a child would be able to climb up into it, the vent was too far up. Leroy stared at the camera as if waiting for it to reveal the meaning of its presence. He received no answer but continued to stare, perplexed. In the end, he leaned back in his chair, lifted the security cap off his head, ran a hand through his thick red hair, and shook his head. Leroy had no clue what to make of the camera.

Leroy turned away from his confusion when he heard the front door opened. Whoever had arrived talked with the woman at the front desk a bit, some laughs were exchanged, and headed off. Leroy saw it was what looked to be a chef, who exchanged a friendly wave with Leroy, as he passed by the security office.

Looks like the others are arriving, Leroy looked back to the security tablet. He toggled the vent cam and began to look through the other cameras. The curiosity of the vent cam could be questioned later. He had a long shift to get through anyway.

The day had turned out to be more relaxed than Leroy anticipated. Costumers were coming but the worse issue Leroy had to deal with was a kid who played hide and seek with a bit too much determination not to be found. He’d, of course, had been sitting in the security office monitoring the cameras when a concerned parent approached him. Worry flited through his stomach when he saw the look of concern on his face, he worried it was something he wouldn’t be able to handle. The father explained that he’s son had gotten stuck on top of the indoor jungle gym.

The father was out of shape, to put it lightly, and couldn’t climb up to get him. The other parents in Kid Cove weren’t sure what to do in the tense situation. This left Leroy as the only one he could turn to.

Leroy’s gut tensed up, worried about failing and something going wrong. He anxiously rubbed his arm out of old habit. He shook it off and nodded. Leroy followed the father to Kid’s Cove and as they headed down the hall he quickly took note people were moving out of the way. Either they knew what was going on or it was impressive what wearing a uniform could do. In the Cove though everyone was focused on the top of the colorful structure next to the ball pit. Leroy quickly spotted the small boy, about four, five, or six at the most, fearfully clinging to bars.

“Can you get him down?” Leroy heard the father fretfully ask.

The space between the boy and the room’s roof was spacious enough Leroy knew he’d be able to sit on top of it. After that it was just a matter of, getting the kid, and hoping down. No problem. Is what he tried to tell himself, but his worry remained. He managed to swallow, felt like he’d forced himself to swallow a lumpy rock, and nodded to the father. 

Leroy nodded. “Yeah, I’ll have him down in a minute.”

He could feel the nervous eyes of not only the father but also the other parents, and their kids. Pressure to succeed building on his shoulders, Leroy approached the front of the playground. His shoes cushioned by the matting under the structure. He turned his attention up to the frightened child.

“Hang on, I’m coming to get you down.” He said as he climbed up the bars. It wasn’t too hard and didn’t take too long with him being a full-grown adult. Leroy was glad it held his weight perfectly well, but then again it was meant to support multiple children running around in it at once. Leroy hoisted himself up onto the top and looked to the child still clinging to the bars a foot or so from him. Oddly, Fun Time Foxy, standing poised having been stopped mid-show, caught his attention. The white and pink Foxy seemed to be watching him? Leroy dismissed the thought, focusing on his job. The boy easily let go as he grabbed him by the waist and then immediately clung to him like a baby monkey. 

Briefly surprised Leroy wrapped an arm around the boy to secure him then carefully lowered himself back down. He was greeted with applause and a very thankful Father. Leroy handed the boy over then tried to keep himself from looking too shy about the praise, his success was mixed at best. The father, while relieved, gave his son some stern words before leaving- after giving another thank you to Leroy. The guard watched the two leave, the crowd already dispersing back to whatever it had been that they’d been doing, before his gaze turned to Fun Time Foxy. He’d felt the animatronic watching him, it’s plastic eyes pinned right on him the whole time.

Leroy recoiled. Fun Time Foxy was staring at him with its lower jaw hanging open. One of its eyes was missing, leaving a black empty socket. Leroy blinked, and it was back to normal. He did a double take. Still normal.

“Gather around children!” Fun Time Foxy announced suddenly, slightly snapping Leroy from his bewilderment. The animatronic came to life, moving and shifting in an almost natural fashion. It’s invisible puppeteer recontinuing the show. Fun Time observed the children as most of them sat in front of the stage. White angular ears swayed back and forth as it seemingly decided whether it had a good enough audience or not. 

“Before I get to the story, I’m going to teach you about safety!” Fun Time announced to the kid’s chagrin. 

Leroy laughed softly and left the room, leaving what he’d seen as his mind playing tricks on him. The stories about the pizzeria were still lingering on the edge of his mind. That’s all it was. He told himself the pizzeria wasn’t haunted as he sat back down in his rolling chair. He exhaled, calming himself, and turned to his security tablet. Nothing better than staring at a screen for hours to calm himself.

Besides, he’d just done a good job! Leroy smiled as he focused on that. He tapped at the tablet screen, yeah there was nothing to worry about. No ghosts, ghosts weren’t even real. Probably. Leroy really didn’t have an opinion on that. Shook his head and refocused on his job. First day on the job, no getting distracted.

 

With his Chica hat on his head Ethan excitedly entered Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria. Behind him was his sister’s boyfriend Mitch, who had three of his friends with them. He’d been surprised that Mitch and his friends wanted to Freddy’s, but he didn’t question it. Mitch and his friends were talking amongst themselves but Ethan didn’t care what they were talking about. He was in the best place ever! Ethan look around excitedly, wondering what he should do first. He’d already done just about everything, but it was still so awesome!

“Ethan.” The boy turned to face Mitch, a dark brown brunette with freckles, who held money in one of his hands. Ethan took it and listened as Mitch continued, “You go play. Me and my friends are going to go get a table, order some pizza.”

“Okay!” Ethan chirped before immediately running off.

The boy eventually found himself in the arcade room near Pirate Cove. In hopes of getting a toy before he left Ethan decided to win tickets. That was why his pockets were stuffed with the tickets he’d won on his last two trips to the pizzeria. His aim, winning a Chica plush doll. For that he needed to win a lot more tickets, about a thousand or two. He could do that, especially if he kept playing ski ball. Ethan already had a long ribbon of tickets coming out of the ski ball machine he was playing at! Long enough that it was curling in on itself! 

Ethan was just about to put another Fazbear token into the ski ball machine when he saw something lumber by the nearby entrances. He stopped and turned his head all the way to it but by then it was gone. Curious he tore his ticket ribbon from the dispenser and stuffed it in with the rest. The paper crumpled and crunched but the child didn’t care as he hurried to see what large thing had passed by. 

A gasp of awe came from Ethan as he laid his eyes on a golden version of Freddy Fazbear. His awe turned into confusion as he saw other people didn’t seem to see the bear! Some even walked right through the golden mascot! Ethan knitted his brows under the bill of his Chica cap, he didn’t know how that was possible. Unless, he was seeing those things his mother told him not to tell anything about. 

Ethan watched as the Golden Freddy placed something onto the wall and kept walking. The bear didn’t seem to mind the fact people were walking right through it. As it walked Ethan noticed the Freddy was damaged, missing an ear and was riddled with small holes. Ethan frowned the bear was hurt, but if it was one of the things he could see but no one else could then, there was nothing that could be done. His mom had said so.

Still, Ethan was curious about what the bear was up to. He followed behind the Golden Freddy, the bear not seeming to notice. The Freddy went headed into the main party room and into the back halls. Ethan stopped, he knew he wasn’t supposed to go back there. When Golden Freddy turned the corner and out of sight Ethan felt a surge of urgency. If he didn’t keep up who know when he’d see the bear again! These things always came and went at random. 

Ethan went into the hall, hoping the golden furred bear hadn’t disappeared yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I look forward to writing the next chapters~


	39. Game

“Story time over already?” Robert, a prize corner clerk, questioned Matt, an invisible puppeteers of Freddy Fazbear’s. Matt was the one in charge of Fun Time Foxy. He wasn’t exactly happy with the fact, having wanted to oversee Foxy the Pirate’s show but instead ended up with a more kids friendly fox. 

“Yeah, had to tell them a not to climb on the playset first.” Matt answered with a dull roll of his eyes and slight annoyance in his voice. He ran a hand along the side of his head with a dull sigh, “But yeah, I’m going on break. Gets so dang stuffy in there.” The twenty-year-old shot the older worker an envious grin. “You’re the only one lucky enough to have your animatronics controls not be in a tight closed off space.”

“Don’t I know it.” Robert joked with a wide smile. He glanced towards the hidden room in the space next to the plush doll shelves. “I know I sure couldn’t last in one of those rooms.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll see yah. I’m going on break.” Matt said as he left the prize corner, giving Robert a wave over his shoulder.

“See yah.” Robert returned. 

Soon after the clerk was left with his job, which he had to admit he enjoyed despite the rumors he’d heard about the franchise. He liked to see the happy faces of the kids as he and Puppet handed out prizes in exchanges for tickets. Though, on occasion, he did feel a sort of strange unease when left alone in the alcove. He’d fidget and taps his fingers on the counter, which recently he’d found and odd scrape mark underneath but he dismissed it. It probably happened when they were installing it, accidents happen. 

Robert flipped the switch to put his coworker, Puppet, away. It was almost time for him to go on break all he needed to do was wait to be relieved of his post. Once the other clerk, Summers, came back from her own break and Robert was eager to go finally sit down. His coworker however, stopped him for a question.

“Hey, uh, has Puppet ever acted odd with you?” Summers questioned as she glanced to the box.

Robert looked at her confusedly. “No, why?”

Summers opened her mouth to answer but dismissed pursuing the topic, “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

The chubby man looked at her but then simply shrugged and went off to enjoy his lunch. Summers was left by herself to man the prize corner with the object of her suspicion. She looked at the oversized box next to the counter, a thin frown on her lips. Nothing major had happened since she began working at the pizzeria. Just a few times she thought she’d seen Puppet intently looking at the nearby camera, or strangely stalling momentarily before returning to its box.

I swear if that thing pops out of nowhere I’m so out of here. Summers thought to herself dully. Right after she spotted two kids heading her way. When a kid handed her a twenty for a plush doll of the titular Freddy, Summers hit the switch to get Puppet to come out of his box. Carefully she eyed the box from the corner of her eye. Sure enough, the lid flipped back and the marionette animatronic gracefully rose up. 

The kids left soon as they got their prizes, eager to go show them to their father. Summers was left with the realization that Robert hadn’t restocked some of the counter prizes, the cheaper plastic variety and candy. With a heavy sigh the woman readied to delve inside the storage room. Almost immediately Summers was left jaw dropped at the sight of the mess inside. The once nice and neat stack of boxes, that she’d organized, was now what could best be described as a cluster fuck.

“What the hell happened in here?” She asked to herself. Summers wanted to scream but decided against possibly causing a scene. She groaned, with Robert on break she was left to clean the mess up herself. The door cracked behind her, to hear any costumers wanting prizes, Summers set to work, lifting and stacking the boxes, of various weights, back to where they’d once been.

Out in the prize corner both Puppet, who still hung in a standing position, and Balloon Boy stared at the closet door. Silently the two looked at each other and Puppet nodded wordlessly. 

 

Confusion was the first thing Gregor felt when he found himself in the old Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria. The fact he seemed to be a kid again was also an oddity. Something in his mind told him he should be aware as to why this was, but it hung just out of reach in his thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder, there were his parents. The two were looked like they were begrudgingly coming along and could break out into argument at any moment. When had it been any different though? On a good day, they’d tolerate each other; on a bad day, they’d argued till one of them left. Right now, would be considered a good day.

Gregor didn’t remember exactly why they were like this. Possibly had something to do with cheating, money issues, personal dreams never being achieved, or maybe a mix of all the above with other things added? Gregor didn’t really care to really remember, no real reason to. Not like they ever cared to think about him or anyone else besides themselves. He’d just been a supposed point of evidence on how the other messed up their life. They never cared if he overheard, probably got too caught up in their heated arguments. Never thinking he could hear them from his room, where he always hid away from their fighting. It never really worked, they were always so loud.

He’d never asked for this, he didn’t want things to be this way. They never asked how he felt about things. His parents only cared about themselves and what they did or didn’t have. Even as a child he knew they were selfish. Their selfishness had left his childhood with bitter anger and envy towards children with better families. 

The anger rising in him came to a complete halt when he heard the announcer over the speakers down the main party room. Gregor was filled with a surge of happiness. Freddy’s show was about to begin!

Gregor forgot all about his previous thoughts, his anger and confusion, as he ran down the hall to the main stage. He ran past faceless people who seemed to be more like faded images than solid people. The walls were covered in aged crayon drawings, the papers covered in yellow spots, edges beginning to curl in on themselves. All this went unnoticed by Gregor as he ran right by it and into the main party room.

Instead of rushing through the crowd to get to the front of the stage Gregor came to a stop. Everybody was gone and in their place the room was filled with a cold silence. Steps careful Gregor walked down the aisle between the party tables. Everything looked bigger now that he was child-sized. He was just above chest height to the table. This made the quiet trek towards the front stage more daunting. The stage looked bigger, the tables looked longer; like they were walls fencing him in, and the path to his distance seem farther.

“Where did everyone go?” Gregor questioned aloud to himself. His voice came out prepubescent but he didn’t question it at this point.

He furrowed his brows, were the red curtains around the stage closing? They were, slowly, ever so slowly closing. The darkness began closing in on the three mascots who were frozen in mid-performance. Their mouth’s hanging open, heads turned, arms in various positions, they looked like overgrown toys posed for a scene. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica stood almost blissfully unaware as they disappeared into the dark, with big empty smiles on their faces. The curtain closed on Bonnie and Chica from the sides then began closing slowly in on Freddy, the red velvety cloth covering up the brown bear till he was no longer visible. To Gregor the curtain closing seemed final. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were gone.

“No, no! Come back!” Gregor scrambled up onto the stage, taking a couple attempts to do so with his smaller frame. He pushed back the curtains and saw only a dark empty backstage. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica really were gone. Distraught Gregor stared into the dark empty space, eyes searching over every inch repeatedly like the three animatronics would suddenly reappear at any moment. They didn’t, and it only caused Gregor to become more upset.

A sudden sound caused Gregor to jump. He whipped around and saw, to his confusion, a kid sitting on the edge of the stage with his back to him. The other kid looked to be a boy with brown hair wearing a black and white striped shirt. His head was looking down at his lap, he seemed to be holding something judging by his arms. The brunette child was swaying his head slightly from side to side as he hummed a familiar tune. It sounded like Freddy’s theme song but a different, an older version maybe?

Gregor stared at the other child then looked around, where had he come from? He wanted to ask where the animatronics had gone, but something told him to not draw the boy’s attention. The boy in the black and white shirt seemed familiar and it made Gregor’s hair stand on ends. Gregor followed his gut instinct and quietly began to back away from the other child. A traitorous squeaky board caused him to freeze up. The boy had stopped humming and now sat perfectly still.

“Where are you going?”

The question reverberated through Gregor’s mind. He knew that voice. The last time he encountered it…the pizzeria hall, the water, being trapped between two monsters. Gregor slowly turned his gaze back to the child. The other boy was now looking at him from the corner of his eye. A tremor of fear shook Gregor’s core when he saw the black empty socket that house a bead of light. Gregor began to back away again, as he did the boy turned around and stood up to face him. Child Gregor stopped, eyes locking onto a Fredbear doll the boy was tightly clutching against his chest.

“Puppet.”

The phantom was deathly pale, skin a faded to an almost white chalky grey. Gregor recoiled at the sight of a large, what looked like a, bite mark on his forehead. Blood was still coming from the wound as if it were still fresh. It went to the forehead then down to his eyes, making it look like the child was crying tears of blood. Puppet wasn’t crying though, no, Gregor could see the cold look of malic he’d give him during the day still brewing in his eyes.

“Where are you going?” The ghost child repeated. He gave a glance to the closed curtains and said, “The show will start soon.”

Gregor was stuck between standing frozen out of fearful caution and running away faster than humanly possible. Currently the first option was winning out. How he managed to keep eye contact with Puppet, Gregor didn’t know. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest, just waiting for the ghost child to attack. 

For what seemed like an hour neither of them did anything. Puppet said nothing further, seemingly waiting for a reply. The wait quickly wore away Gregor’s nerves and soon they were gone. Not knowing what to do or say, he yelled, “What do you want? What’s going on Puppet!”

The ghost child didn’t seem fazed by his yelling and played with his plush doll’s ears. Puppet, or the spirit that possessed the animatronic, walked over to the curtains. The steps were completely silent, the boards didn’t even creak. Puppet continued to focus on his doll as he answered Gregor. The hatred the child bared carried to his voice, it was seething, “What’s happening is you’re going to pay making my friends suffer.”

Now the child looked to him. “It’s only fair.” His voice became rougher, more of a growl. “For trapping us in this nightmare, with him.”

Gregor went on the defensive, body stiffening up, though as his child self he looked as imposing as a fluffed-up Pomeranian. He clenched his hands into fists, glaring back best he could without cringing at the sight of Puppet’s large head wound. “You and your friend are no better than him! All the guards that you’ve stuffed into suits!”

The cold even tone Puppet used to respond chilled Gregor to his core. “You’re right. I haven’t been a “kid” in a long time. But if I have to be a monster to get the revenge my friends deserve, fine.”

Child Gregor jumped as the curtain began to open behind Puppet. There was a loud whine as the red cloth was drawn back, the sound of tiny wheels squeaking simultaneously. A seemingly endless dark empty void behind Puppet now. Gregor could hear the shifting inside the darkness, shifting of multiple large entities. Out of building fear Gregor backed away from the darkness and the vengeful ghost child in front of it, causing him to nearly fall off. Barely managing to regain his balance Gregor froze up at the sight of the dark smirk that had appeared on Puppet’s face.

“Don’t leave just yet. I want you to meet my friends.” 

The shifting sounds were moving in, and as they moved closer it became clearer that they were the sounds of large, heavy, mechanical things. From the shadows came many sets of eyes most of them a bright, glaring, red. When the forms of the monstrosities emerged from the darkness Gregor stumbled backwards off the stage. All of them were monstrous versions of the Freddy Fazbear mascots, even Fredbear was included. Freddy looked like he had things writhing inside of him, things with sharp teeth. 

Gregor stared, paralyzed where he’d fallen onto the pizzeria floor.

The ghost child walked calmly to the front of the stage and looked down at Gregor, its plush doll even seemed to peer down at him as well. “These were my nightmares, and now, their yours.”

The cue to attack had been given. Various loud booming screeches ripped through the air. Gregor let out a child’s scream as the nightmare Foxy charged on all fours off the stage. He scrambled to his feet and ran from the monstrous horde of nightmares. Gregor gasped and winced as the vulpine’s hook scraped the back of his calve, tearing through the denim pants he was wearing.

With a crashing thud the pale purple nightmare Bonnie landed in front and to the side of Gregor. The creature had a crevice were the center of its torso had once been, like something had torn its insides right out, which was offset with an almost brand new looking red bowtie. It snarled and tried to grab for Gregor with screw-like claws. Out of fear driven reflex child Gregor ducked under its claws and ran for the security room. He’d be safe there! He just had to be!

As Gregor ran down the hall he could hear the nightmares chasing him down. A heavy storm of stomping feet was behind him. He skidded into the security room and immediately turned around to press the button. With his child size Gregor had to jump up to reach it. To his relief, the door responded and shut. Just before the door shut all the way, nightmare Foxy tried to slip underneath and ended up being stuck beneath heavy door. The nightmare surprisingly wasn’t crushed by this. The monster snarled and hissed, trying to snap at Gregor with its sharp metal teeth. Gregor screamed and jumped back when the fox managed to swipe it’s clawed hand at his legs.

Yellow eyes glaring at Gregor, Nightmare Foxy seemed to concede to the fact it wouldn’t be able to get at him this way. With a long hiss the red nightmare pulled itself out from under the door, allowing it to shut completely. Gregor watched as the fox stalked away from the door, the creature’s eyes were right on him until it was out of sight.

Gregor swallowed a frightened heavy breath. He looked around the office, fidgeting like a cornered mouse, for anything that could help him in the slightest. Immediately he spotted the control panel. No luck, the screen looked like it’d been smashed with a baseball bat. The press of the power button revealed the battery was dead anyway. Gregor tossed the useless item away and searched around with increased feverishness. The only thing else he could find was a flashlight, oddly it seemed to be in good condition aside from some dust on it. Gregor looked at the tool indecisively, what could a flashlight possibly do to help him against these monsters?

“You’d better take it.”

Nearly jumping from his skin child Gregor looked up towards the vent. He’d expected to see the ghost child from before but he was instead met with the sight of sickle-like claws gripping the edge of the vent. The inner edge of the claws looked crude, worn and dotted with nicks.

“You’ll need it to survive the game.” The claws let go and what Gregor presumed was Puppet silently slipped backwards out of sight.

Heavy footsteps from the hall opposite to the closed door snapped Gregor’s attention to it. A rumbling growl followed shortly afterwards. The nightmares were closing in and all that Gregor had was a flashlight to scare them away. If that worked, he still doubted how a simple light would deter such monsters. Heavy breaths behind the closed door near him caused Gregor to dash his doubts and hold the flash light close.

Puppet’s voice drifted through the large open vent like a soft whisper, “Don’t worry, it’s just a dream, but you’ll know the fear they felt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the start of of this nightmare sequence but I didn't want to go any longer to update.  
> These are the Nightmare Animatronics from 5NAF 4, seemed fitting seeing as Puppet is the Crying Child in this.  
> The animatronics from the Halloween DLC won't be included as they aren't canon. I do love Nightmare Mangle and the Jack-O Bonnie and Chica though. Nightmare himself sadly won't show up due to the role it plays in this au.
> 
> Also, Gregor's thoughts towards his parents is meant to be hypocritical


	40. Matter of Seeing

The Golden Freddy had disappeared. Ethan pursed his lips, disapproving of the result. The boy looked around the hall, his disappointment shelved for curiosity. Parts of his ticket ribbon stuck out of his pocket haphazardly, from him absentmindedly stuffing it in there, as he stood in the middle of hall. Ethan looked around the hall from underneath the orange bill of his Chica hat, the back hall sure was different than the rest of the pizzeria. The main part of the building was lively and colorful. The back hall seemed to carry an almost dreary grey tone to it. The confetti pattern was still present, as well as the tile border that ran along the middle of the wall, but the life seemed to have been sucked out of it somehow.

Ethan rubbed his arms, the air was chilly back here. He supposed that made sense, no one was back here and it wasn’t as bright. Ethan perked, he’d heard on TV that cold places were where ghosts hung around! That meant the Golden Freddy was still around, or could be, right? Ethan looked around with renewed excitement only to remember that he wasn’t supposed to be back here. He could get in trouble.

Indecisively Ethan shifted where he stood, trying to decide if it’d be worth it. Possibly get in trouble or possibly see the Golden Freddy?

Up above him a watchful camera whirred from right to left, sending all it saw to the security office.

“What is that kid doing back there?” Leroy questioned aloud as he set down the soda he’d quickly gotten from the concession counter in the main party room. He’d just been checking around the building and clicked on the back-hall camera. Leroy hadn’t expected to see anyone, but there the kids was.

Leroy watched the child fidget where he stood in the middle of the hall. Worried something might be wrong, Leroy got up from his chair and headed to go see what was going on. He needed to escort him out of the back hall anyway.

As he entered the main party room Leroy saw the curtains of the stage being drawn back. Looked like the show was about to start, but he had a kid to check on. Leroy continued on his way, saying “excuse me” a couple of time to get past people. They gave him wondering looks but didn’t question him. By the time Leroy reached the hall Freddy had already begun to speak. The children had already been cheering when the curtains had begun to open but now they were yelling full force.

“Hey kids! It’s your good pal Freddy Fazbear! Welcome to my pizzeria I hope you’re having lots of fun!”

A loud unanimous cheer of “We are!” followed. Afterwards Chica and Bonnie chimed in. Chica encouraging kids to enjoy their pizzas and Bonnie asking if they wanted to hear them play a song. Of course, the crowd screamed at the top of the small lungs that they did. By the time the Fazbear band began their recorded singing Leroy spotted the kid he’d seen from the camera view. 

“Hey kid.” The boy jumped in surprise. Leroy glanced the child over, thankful when he didn’t see any bruises or the like on him. That was a concerning worry off his mind. He’d been afraid that the boy hiding from someone. “What are you doing back here?”

Leroy furrowed a brow when the child fidgeted, like he was unsure about answering. Leroy’s worry returned, “Is something wrong? Are you okay?”

The boy shook his head then nodded. He sounded timid when he spoke, “I’m okay…”

Still concerned about the boy’s behavior Leroy asked one more time, “Can you tell me why you’re back here?”

Leroy watched the child thoughtfully bite down on his lower lip. He offered the boy a friendly smile in hopes of encouraging him to answer. The attempt failed, the Chica capped boy shook his head and muttered a, “Uh-uh.”

After a soft sigh, Leroy bent down some to be more on the kid’s level and asked, “Why can’t you tell me? Is there a reason?”

The child seemed to become shy now, he scuffed a foot along the linoleum tiled checkered floor. His head down he quietly said, “Because you won’t believe me…Mom said people wouldn’t believe me. That people would think I’m weird or make fun of me…” The boy looked up at Leroy, he looked at the guard almost pleadingly, “Am I in trouble…?”

Leroy blinked in surprise before figuring the boy knew he wasn’t supposed to be in the back here. He was going to assure the child he wasn’t in trouble when he said that his mother said no one would believe him, it set a red flag off in his head. Leroy prayed that his assumption was wrong, an issue like that would be too much for his first day at work. That said, if it was true, he would do everything he could to help the child.

“No, you’re not in trouble, but aren’t supposed to be back here. It’s not for costumers.” The child uttered that he knew that in an ashamed matter, his head hanging low. Now that he’d gotten that across Leroy wondered if he should put his hand on his shoulder. Try to gain a form of trust from it, but he worried that would be pushing his boundaries. Leroy wished he’d had some form of training for this. So, he instead decided to use a softer tone, “You can tell me. I promise I won’t make fun of your or anything.” He pointed to his name tag, “I’m Leroy a security guard here. I’m here to help.”

The boy looked at the offered hand quietly for a moment before taking it. “My name is Ethan.”

“It’s nice to meet you Ethan. I like your Chica hat.” Leroy complimented with a friendly smile.

“Thanks!” Ethan answered, smile beaming. It was quickly replaced with a look of confusion. He looked around and asked, “Where’s the other security guard? The one that was here the last two times I was here?”

His question got Leroy to arch a brow, “The other-Oh! You mean Gregor.” The boy gave him a quizzical look and Leroy realized he didn’t know his supervisor’s name. He kept his smile and explained, “He’s the other guard. He’s busy doing deskwork.”

“Sounds boring.” Ethan commented, getting the idea deskwork was like homework. 

Leroy nodded in agreement, “It is, but us adult have to do that stuff.” 

Ethan looked back to Leroy, he knew the adult wanted an answer. His mother told him not to talk about it though and he didn’t want to be made fun of, but Leroy said he wouldn’t and he didn’t seem like he would. He seemed nice and he seemed like he was a little worried maybe. Ethan didn’t know why he would be but it seemed like he was. He didn’t want the security guard to be worried about him, he’s okay.

He was still uneasy about explaining, but he’d always wanted to talk to someone about what he saw. Whenever he told his Mom she’d tell him “not to worry about it” or “just ignore it”, things like that. They’d never really talked about it. He got the feeling his Mom didn’t like talking about the things he saw. His sister knew too but they didn’t really get along, she was always talking about girl stuff and her boyfriend. Mitch was okay, he guessed. He didn’t really know him that well- aside from his sister saying how much she liked him. He usually was with his friends or his sister anyway. Maybe he could talk to Leroy about it? The more Ethan thought about it the more he wanted to. What harm could it do? Not like he’d be here every day, he’d just been lucky so far.

“Um, well, I…” Ethan stammered, he still felt so unsure. He couldn’t bring himself to speak correctly.

“It’ll be okay, promise.” Leroy encouraged, like he was talking to a little brother. He’d never had a sibling. So he tried to mimic the tone his mother had used with him when she reassured him, and it seemed to do the trick.

“I saw a golden Freddy.” Ethan finally answered, his eyes averted and his tone shy, almost sounding embarrassed by what he said. “He put up a picture, I think.”

“A golden Freddy?” Leroy echoed confusedly. He regretted his reaction when Ethan made a sour face at him.

“You promised!” He cried out.

Leroy held his hands up, trying to show he meant no insult, “I’m not making fun! I’m just confused, okay?” Ethan looked at him, trying to figure out if the adult meant it or not. Leroy explained, “I don’t know of us having a golden Freddy. I only know about our star on stage,” He gestured towards the stairs that led backstage, “and he’s brown.”

Ethan settled then looked back to the ground, uncertain again. “That’s because only I can see him…”

“Only you, can see him?” Leroy’s question came out slowly in two parts. He wasn’t quite sure how to take this. Had the boy been following an imaginary friend? But he’d said he’d saw the Golden Freddy, which, to Leroy, didn’t sound like it was his friend. He felt Ethan would’ve mentioned it was his friend, at least. Maybe he was just pretending, or, the boy could be lying all together, but Leroy had already told him he wasn’t in trouble so why lie?

“It’s because he’s a ghost.” Ethan’s explanation was heard clearly amongst the noise of the show that was still going on. The rumor’s that the animatronics were possessed by murdered children that had a hatred for security guards. Warmth seemed to drain from Leroy, had the back hall always been so cold? He felt for the cross that was just beneath his thick dark purple work shirt. The feel of the necklace pendent calmed him some but Leroy still felt a sneaking sensation of unease building up.

Ethan picked up on this and looked at the guard, wondering what was wrong. Leroy flashed a reassuring smile and let his arm drop back to his side. He forced the sudden surge of anxiety down, suppressed it and pushed it back. The child happened to claim he saw a ghost but that didn’t mean there was one. Nonetheless he wanted to get out of the back hall and to somewhere more…populated. Leroy focused on Ethan, he needed to get this child to his parents, he had to do his job. He could mull over the possibility that Freddy’s was haunted or not later.

“Let’s get you to your parents Ethan.” Leroy said as he stood back up.

Ethan frowned at him, he recognized an adult dodging a subject; his Mom did it a lot herself, “You don’t believe me…”

Leroy opened his mouth to respond but didn’t know what to say. Instead he took his hand and, with insistence in his voice, said, “Come on, let’s go.”

Disappointment painted on his face Ethan hung his head and gave a compliant nod. Leroy frowned, he didn’t want to sadden the child, but he really did have to get him out of the back gall. If there was a ghost of a vengeful child back here, Leroy didn’t want this boy to be around it. If, there was one. Leroy didn’t want to devote too much belief in that. He hoped that the boy was just making things up, or his imagination had gotten a little too vivid for a moment. The thought of a child’s ghost hanging around both saddened and brought Leroy great concern. He was a man of faith, not totally devout, but he did his prayers and went to church most Sundays. Restless spirits unsettled him to say the least. Ones that were rumored to be particularly vengeful ones stressed his anxieties.

A sense of great relief allowed Leroy to relax his nerves some when they rejoined the other people in the main party room. It was a sense of safety in numbers, nothing bad could happen while other people were around. Least that’s what Leroy let his mind convince him. He scanned the room, trying to see if he could spot a pair of concerned parents. The show was still going on: Freddy and his two friends were singing another song, much to the excitement of the mass of children crowded around the stage. The sight soothed Leroy enough that he managed a faint smile.

He looked back to Ethan, “Where are your parents?”

“I didn’t come with my Mom.” Ethan answered as he absently poked at the ticket ribbon that jutted out of his pocket. He pointed over to a group of teenagers sitting at a circular corner booth. They all seemed to be talking and laughing avidly about something while eating pizza. “My sister’s boyfriend brought me here with his friends.”

Leroy looked from the boy then over to the group of teenagers. He quirked a brow, it was a bit odd that his sister’s boyfriend brought her brother over and not the sister herself or the mother. He dismissed the oddity and began to lead Ethan over to the group. It didn’t take long for the teens to notice the guard’s approach. They quieted, but watched him with a keen interest. One of the boys quickly noticed Ethan was with him and seemed somewhat confused and concerned, Leroy guessed he was Ethan’s sister’s boyfriend.

“Ethan don’t tell me you got in trouble!” Mitch exclaimed in surprise.

Leroy was quick to dismiss his worry, “No, he’s not in trouble. I did find him in the back hall through. Try and keep an eye on him so it doesn’t happen again. The back hall is for staff only not costumers.”

Mitch looked at Ethan as he answered Leroy, “Yeah, don’t worry I’ll keep an eye on him.” He looked to the guard with an apologetic smile, “Sorry, I didn’t think he’d wander off like that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Leroy reassured before he let go of Ethan’s hand. Quietly the child walked over to the booth and sat on the end seat. He looked down at his lap in silent shame. Leroy frowned, he didn’t mean to have embarrassed the child or betray his trust but this was his job. He turned his attention back to the teenage boy, “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I will, thanks for bringing him back.” Mitch thanked as he curiously looked back to Ethan.

“No problem, and enjoy your time at Freddy Fazbear’s.” Leroy wrapped up before he left to return to his post.

Mitch watched the guard leave before he looked back to Ethan. The boy had his still head hung, face hidden by his Chica cap but he could tell he was upset. What had him curious was why he’d gone into the back hall. Mitch wasn’t all too close to Ethan but he’d never heard the kid to be the type to go against set rules like that. He was the well-behaved type that didn’t like to get in trouble. What Mitch also knew was the reason he’d volunteered to bring Ethan to Freddy’s today. He’d heard from his girlfriend that, supposedly, Ethan could see ghosts.

“Hey Ethan,” the boy lifted his head and looked over to Mitch, “why’d you go into the back hall?”

Ethan looked back to his lap. Mitch barely heard his answer over the singing animatronics and screaming kids, “I was just curious...”

It was hard to tell of Ethan was just feeling ashamed for getting caught or something else. Mitch’s gut told him it was the latter but he knew that’s what he wanted it to be. The Fazbear missing kids cases were a big intrigue of his. He found that sort of thing interesting whether it was unsolved cases or unsolved happenings. From criminal to the possibly supernatural, the unsolved was a fixation of his. He liked to dig up as much information as he could and see if he agreed with popular theories or come to his own conclusion. Naturally he planned on going into the investigation field when he got older, preferably federal or maybe private. The Fazbear case being a hometown case, that was now a hometown urban legend, added a more personal interest.

“That all?” Mitch questioned. It was a long shot but he hoped to egg something out of the kid.

Ethan clamped his lips shut tightly and nodded.

At that Mitch was willing, disappointedly so, to drop it. One of his friends; however, was more eager to continue pressing the child, “Did you see something?”

The kid’s expression seized up before he feverishly shook his head. This reaction got Mitch to think that he had seen something but, for whatever reason, didn’t want to talk about it. He drummed his fingers on his pants leg. Much as he’d like to know for sure, here and now, it was obvious to see Ethan had clammed up. When his friend was about to pressure the kid again Mitch elbowed him in the side. His friend, Jayden, shot him a look but Mitch shot him one right back and motioned for him to lay off. Jayden still didn’t look to happy but sat back against the booth with a huff under his breath.

“Just leave him alone for bit, okay?” Mitch sharply whispered to his friend.

“Alright, alright…” Jayden responded.

 

Leroy sat back down in his chair, his leg bouncing impatiently. He was so antsy that he already felt like getting back up and pacing the length of the security office. What Ethan had told him had his nerves up in arms. Leroy shook his head and exhaled through his nose. Get back to doing your job, Leroy’s mind told him sternly. Mentally he nodded his head in agreement. 

With a couple of scoots Leroy pulled his swivel chair back up to the desk. He with a gentle exhale he put himself back to work. The distraction worked for a while but he kept finding himself looking at the crayon pictures tapped to the walls. He recalled that Ethan had mentioned something about the “Golden Freddy” putting up a picture. Leroy had been so caught up on the “Golden Freddy” part that he hadn’t asked about the picture bit.

A sudden itching sensation yanked Leroy from his thoughts and he scratched at his sleeve. All the uncertainty was causing his old needle scars to act up. Leroy stared at the camera screen, a colorful wall plastered with pictures being shown, as his hand firmly gripped his arm. His leg bouncing grew more vigorously as his anxiety built up.

No, I need to watch the cameras. Leroy reminded himself, but a thought came along to change his mind, I haven’t done a round around the pizzeria yet though, and walking would help my nerves…

Just being out of the solitary security room helped Leroy ease his stress. The busyness of the party room, the kids running around; making all kinds of noises, people eating and talking, almost made him forget about why he’d convince himself to leave the office. He absentmindedly glanced over the crayon drawings and spotted something odd, out of place, among the playful and innocent pieces. 

His green eyes pinned on the piece, Leroy approached it. At first, he couldn’t make out what it depicted. It was difficult to tell among the swarm of other colors and images, especially with the varying level of artistic talent. As he grew closer, Leroy stared, disbelievingly, at what he realized what was drawn. Quietly he took the picture off the wall, the paper quivering in an unsteady hand. He couldn’t believe what he was holding and he couldn’t decide if he wanted this to be a sick joke or not.

The picture was done in crayon like all the rest. The shades of the colors were the basic hues that the pizzeria provided giving it a bright cheery look, which sharply contrasted to the subject matter that was dawn.

There were two figures on the picture. One was what appeared to be an all purple security guard. Only three colors were used on him, purple, black, and yellow. Yellow was only used on what Leroy guessed was a security badge, while the black crudely defined clothing such as his hat. His eye were almost all black aside from small white dots that were possibly pupils and a black empty smile that was scribbled wide across the face.

Lying next to the guard was what looked to be Fun Time Foxy’s animatronic head. The fox’s head had a rough, waxy pink outline, the same color used on its cheeks. In contrast with the mostly white and pink colors were black holes for eyes. There was a roughness as to how that was drawn, Leroy could see small bits of black wax dust clinging just atop the paper, like whomever had drawn it had done it with vigorous strokes. Leroy could spot similar with the purple on the guard, if not done more feverishly.

With the guard’s grin and the fox’s eye empty eye sockets Leroy found himself second guessing his thoughts on what Ethan had said. With that possibility, the picture he was holding wasn’t near the back hall. It had been on the party room’s back wall. Quickly Leroy went to go check if there was another. He hoped he was just overreacting.


	41. Recompense

Gregor had his back pressed up against the wall as he hid underneath the desk in the security room. He kept reminding himself that this was just a dream, none of it was real, but all of his senses told him otherwise. He could hear the monsters shifting in the halls; waiting for the right moment to charge in and get him, feel his back getting lightly scrapped by a jagged crack in the wall, and smell something foul in the air. Gregor couldn’t tell if it was the decay of the building around him or the monsters themselves. None of its real, Gregor told himself again despite the information his senses kept telling him. He rubbed his hear, there was also an odd buzzing sound that’d occasionally drift in and scratch at his ears like an annoying gnat.

He gasped as he heard a manic, jarring noise that sounded like a sped up, whirring, growl shake through the air. One of the tiny Freddy’s, that the larger nightmare Freddy housed inside him, was near. It sounded like one for now, wherever it was, but the other two and the big bear himself couldn’t be far behind. He’d already been assaulted by hellish cubs before. Their living den father hadn’t taken too kindly to Gregor shining his flashlight at them.

Nightmare Freddy wasn’t the only one with a minion, nightmare Chica’s cupcake also sported long sharp fangs. It seemed more independent than the nightmare cubs but Gregor felt no better for it. Through it all Puppet seemed keen on harassing, insulting and berating, him while trying to drag him out of the office with his strings. 

Gregor pulled his legs up closer to him as the whirring growl grew closer, it still seemed to be only one of the mini-Freddys. He readied to flash the cub-sized abomination soon as he caught sight of its glowing beady red eyes. The sound of metal claws hitting the ground occurred erratically, the small creatures were even twitchier than their larger, or real life, counterparts. Click, click-click, click, click…click-click, click. The growling became harsher, the machine creature possibly growing irate with him not being in plain sight, but soon after it shuffled further in. Gregor felt the hairs on the back of his neck raised when it released a shrill, ear grating, shriek, that caused its machine body rattled at its own voice’s force.

A thud from the top of the desk alerted Gregor that the thing had jumped on top. He gritted his teeth, that wasn’t good if it figured out he was underneath it could just lunge at him. Anyone would assume that nearly automatically, but with the monsters he couldn’t tell. In the end, it didn’t matter how smart they were. All he had was flashlight and they were giants with talons and fangs. They didn’t need to be very smart to rip him to shreds.

Click, click, click, click, click. The jittery monster seemed to be pacing back and forth on top of the desk, metal scraping against metal, each scrap a sharp jab at Gregor’s ears. Gregor’s heart jumped every time he saw its claws peek over the edge of the desk. It’d only take the thing one sudden thought then in the next moment it’d be at his throat. At any moment, it could lung at him, its snarls alerting the others to join in. The moment didn’t come. The nightmare cub sat square in the middle atop the desk its claws hanging over the edge. Gregor almost felt like the gremlin was taunting him, mocking him with the fact he could do nothing to deter it. 

Next, to his terror, the shaky thing called for its cub mates by way of short, successive, shrieks. Down one of the halls, seemingly the right, he heard a pair of shrieks and a deeper roar that sent a shudder through him. Gregor clutched the flashlight tightly between his hands, telling himself to stay where he was. Not that he had anywhere else to hide. He’d tried shutting both doors at the same time but whenever he tried the first door he’d closed would pop open. Unsaid rules had been placed upon him and he was being forced to follow along. 

There were only a few rules from what he’d gathered so far. One being the doors. The animatronics only seemed to come one at a time to each door and the vent. He’d also noticed most of them had specific doors they went to. The ones exempt from this were the minions, Fredbear, and Puppet. 

A pair of hurried, small, mechanical footsteps jerked Gregor’s attention back over to the right doorway. The two other nightmare cubs sounded their arrival to their sibling, and it responded in turn. Gregor pressed his back up further against the wall as one darted across the room and much to his dismay opened the left door, which he’d previously had shut. With one jump and a sound click Gregor was more in danger than he’d already been in. Now he had the possibility of another monster.

Things immediately got worse when another nightmare Freddy cub bounded into view. It stopped and locked eyes with Gregor. The creature’s rustic brown body shuddered violently before it opened its mouth and exposed its many needle-like teeth. Just as it was about to pounce Gregor immediately hit it with a beam of light. The hellish cub’s hostility vanished and was replaced with what seemed to be pain, it shrieked loudly before bolting out way it came. 

With an attack cry, another of the triplets lunged at Gregor and out of reflex he swatted it away with the flashlight, swinging the industrial torch like it was a baseball bat. The nightmare tumbled into the wall of the office only to scramble right back onto its feet, its sharp claws leaving scores on the dirty and cracked linoleum tiles. Gregor repelled it with his flashlight and the creature fell onto its back with an alarmed shriek. The plush doll-sized monster shook violently on the ground like it was having a convulsion.

Gregor had no time to enjoy his small pair of victories when a pair of small, beady, red glowing eyes came into view. The third of the triplets stared at him upside down from just over the edge of the metal desk. It pulled back, only for a moment, before jumping down and flinging its compact body at Gregor. The nightmare furiously slashed at him with its claws, Gregor could only keep his arms raised and let them take them take the damage. 

Next came a bite to his leg, the other nightmare Freddy cub that was still in the room had seized the opportunity to sink its teeth in, eliciting a pained yelp from Gregor. The monster’s teeth sank right into his leg and tore at it with each jerk the it made. It jerked his leg back, trying to pull him out from under his hiding spot, like a dog playing tug-o-war with a rope, then shook causing its teeth to shred away at his flesh. Quickly the one that had been trying to flay him caught onto the plan and grabbed onto his other leg. By the time Gregor gathered himself enough to make them both let go with the flashlight he’d already been pulled out in the open. The two monsters shrieked in pain as they fled out the right doorway and into the shrouded hallway.

Gasping in pain, Gregor pulled himself up to a sitting position, his legs sprawled out in front of him. He felt like he’d been attacked by a blender and his arms certainly looked like it. Both sides of his arms were decorated with claw marks, both deep and shallow ones; dark, sticky, red coated his skin. Flinching, Gregor peered at his bitten leg, his stomach knotted up at what he saw. Each tooth mark was clear and jagged from the others, and went in deeply. Trails of blood were trickling down the sides of his cream-colored legs, already small pools of it had gathered. He felt the urge to vomit at what looked like small bits of his flesh lying on the floor.

Gregor didn’t know how he was going to move around with such a wound. He shook his head and reminded himself, It’s JUST a dream! It’s not real. None of this is real! The pain isn’t real- get up!

He forced himself up to his feet. The pain that resonated from his leg demanded he give in, but he persisted. Gregor cringed in pain and panted from the exertion, blood was traveled from his bite wound in thin streams. That’d taken more out of him than he’d wanted, but at least he was able to stand.

Heavy footsteps reminded him that the twisted game was still going. He looked from one hall to the other, trying to determine from which way his hunter was coming from. Now he had two doors to choose from and he hadn’t heard anything from the left since he’d shut it. It had to be from the right, he decided, that was where he’d heard Freddy’s roar. However, he found himself concerned about the left doorway. Paranoia nagged at him to quickly go shut it, so then he’d once again only have to deal with the vent and right doorway.

Next thing Gregor new he was grabbed and hoisted up by his leg, leaving his torso dangling in the air like a useless hunk of meat. The pain from his gripped leg intensified from the strain of gravity pulling down on it. With a gasping cry, Gregor wildly looked around to see what had taken hold of him. His eyes were met with hot burning coals that were the eyes of nightmare Freddy Fazbear. When his frightened eyes locked with the monster’s Gregor felt himself seize up. The ursine opened its tattered jaws and exhaled a low, breathy growl. From inside it the monster’s cubs poked their heads out from moderately sized holes in its body and seemingly jeered at Gregor for being caught, eager to see the hunt come to a bloody end. 

As the perverse version of Freddy readied to rend Gregor’s flesh with its screw-like claws, Gregor’s immediate thought was to defend himself with his flashlight. When he tried to raise his arm Gregor found his it was stuck in place. Confused, and Freddy seeming to halt for some reason, he looked back and formed a hard expression of dread. In the other doorway that the nightmare Freddy’s cubs had opened stood Puppet’s deteriorated nightmare form.

The bottom part of his mask had snapped off to form jaws for its anglerfish-like teeth. The front covering of his torso was torn up and mostly missing, exposing a metal ribcage. The tips of his spindly legs were bare and pointed like large needles. Instead of looking like a friendly gift giving pierrot inspired marionette, Puppet looked like a sickle clawed wraith. What was held back Gregor’s arm were the strings that in the waking world were attached to Puppet’s limbs. 

“Game over, Gregor.” Came Puppet’s quiet, whispering voice, though his jaws never moved.

“N-No!” Gregor protested as he struggled to move.

Puppet seemed to glide closer, it’s hot white eyes pinning Gregor into place. “Yes. It’s time for you to start paying for your selfishness.”

Gregor shot the child, no, monster, a glare, “I may be selfish, but I deserve something in my life.” Reminding himself once more that this was an only a dream strengthened his voice, “You can’t do anything to me. This is only a dream, nothing else! You hold no power over me! You’re just a child hiding in a monster costume! And the rest are just your messed-up puppets! Your nothing! Nothing! I told you, you can’t stop me. I will get what I want!”

Momentarily Puppet seemed silenced by his words, the light in its eyes was snuffed out and Gregor thought he’d driven his point home. This was not the case.

“You’re just like him.” Puppet’s voice was low. The lights that were its pupils were still out, bringing a new skull appearance to its mask, the paint on it so worn and faint it may as well not be there. 

Before Gregor could respond Puppet’s face was right in front of his. The black, empty sockets, seemed to suck his focus right in. He couldn’t dare look away. “You don’t care who you step over or crush to get what you want. You believe you deserve so much, but you don’t! You don’t know what suffering is! All you want is a distraction so you don’t see how sad your life is!”

Getting the feeling Puppet’s rant was over, Gregor managed to flick the flashlight on just before Puppet jerked it away. As the flashlight jumped from his hands the beam of light stuck the puppet master in its empty eyes causing him to recoil away, hissing loudly as he clutched his mask. Puppet’s long limb flung outward, tossing string that the flashlight was entwined in, away from himself. Jerkily nightmare Freddy moved away from the swinging beam of light as if he’d be set ablaze if it touched him.

In the confusion, Gregor pulled his leg free, the blood on his leg enough to allow it to slip out. His landing wasn’t the most graceful however and he fell flat on his back. The calls of alarm from the nightmare cubs, still inside their moving nest, was enough to rush him to get to his feet. Quickly in a panicked scramble, he barely had anything else left to his plan other than to escape, Gregor hurried away from the hellish bear. Then he spotted it, the doorway behind Puppet. The monster’s long thin legs were tipped in points but there was plenty of space for him to run past Puppet.

With not many other options, and the flashlight still getting flung around at the end of Puppet’s string, Gregor ran for it. He ducked around Puppet’s legs and went out the doorway. Not knowing which way was safe, he let his adrenalin driven mind pick his next direction. Gregor headed towards the front desk, hoping to hopefully hide there. 

A large yellow mass standing in front of the desk told him he would not find safety here. The unholy version of Fredbear’s head turned all the way around, a complete one hundred and eighty degrees, soon as traitorous gasp left his mouth. The sight sent an ice cold shot of fear straight up his spine and his hair stood on ends as he backed away from the abomination. Nightmare Fredbear began to walk towards him, backwards, its oversized mouth opening in a wide, multirowed, fanged smile. Much to Gregor’s despair, he noticed that it looked like every one of the fangs were stained with red. 

The garnish yellow bear’s arms twisted around, pops of metal being bent in unnatural manner brought to Gregor’s mind bones snapping, so it could grab ahold of him. Gregor took it as his cue turn and run. Even then he had to stop, at the end of the hall nightmare Bonnie stood with a similar fanged pair of claws. Behind him Gregor could spot a pair of bright glowing yellow eyes, nightmare Foxy. Gregor turned back around, maybe he could move around-his thoughts stopped when he saw Fredbear’s mouth stomach had opened and a metallic tendril-like tongue lapped out of it, daring him to even try and get around him.

“Nowhere else to run.” Without a sound, without him noticing, Puppet was looming over him. Gregor could do nothing as strings wrapped around his neck, coiling tightly. Puppet didn’t shred him with his claws, no, instead the tall and lanky animatronic nightmare grabbed his throat and began to squeeze tightly. The man in child form gagged and choked for air, grasping desperately at his throat, trying to pry the Puppet’s claws off him.

“Go on,” Puppet began softly, before a drastic, sharp, rise in fury, “tell yourself it’s just a dream! Tell yourself that you’ll just wake up and it’ll all be over!” Puppet’s whispery voice seemed to crack and grow more unhinged as he went on, but Gregor hardly noticed this over his own situation. He’d already thought Puppet demented anyway. Puppet gripped Gregor’s small throat harder, his voice becoming a scathing growl, “But…you won’t wake up…I’m going to teach you what suffering is.”

Panicked alarm bells were going off in Gregor’s mind. His stern assurance that nothing could go wrong was been thrown out the window. His attempt to free himself from the skeletal animatronic was becoming less lively as darkness invaded from all edges of his vision. The other monsters were suddenly forgotten, the world around him was a dark grey haze, the only thing was still utterly visible was the vengeful Puppet. The monster’s breath was cold and clung to him tightly that he himself was growing cold. Gregor began to have trouble moving, his limbs unresponsive and felt like there were needles dancing on his skin. Sound was drowned out, he could only really make out the sound of his weakening gags, but steadily a familiar buzzing noise grew in his ears.

The louder it grew the more Gregor could recognize it wasn’t a buzz but a whine that quickly grew high in pitch. It was a sped up, corrupted, lifeline going flat. His windpipe being constricted tightly by Puppet’s wrathfully tight, python grip, Gregor was unable to question the sound, but it sent a fresh new sort of fear through him. The sound of a flatline either meant a close encounter with death or being welcomed into its eternal embrace, never breath again. The mortal fear rose in Gregor until it manifested as a cold sweat all over his visible Caucasian skin.

Could this be a sign he was dying from his nightmare, that Puppet was staying true to his word? Gregor’s mind began to grow too swamped with fog to continue articulating thoughts, but the fear was still very present. Gregor’s struggle became near nonexistent. The less he fought the more evident a pair of red embers became in the shadows present behind the still very focused image of Puppet’s hate filled empty grin. 

Steadily the looming being became more and more visible. Its size was undefinable, it filled the hazy, shadowy space but Gregor couldn’t tell where it started and where it ended. It had a wide boxy snout like Fredbear did. Red tipped fangs the length of knives filled its big maw to the brim. The surface of the creature seemed like it wasn’t actually there, like black tinted plastic. Vaguely an animatronic endoskeleton was visible underneath, seemingly floating suspended at the center of the beast. Its jaws opened wide, far too wide to have been physically possible. The corrupted flatline flooded Gregor’s ears, threatening to breach his eardrum with force of a tsunami.

Among the horrendous noise, Gregor heard something. A message, that made it all to clear. He was dying! The constriction of his throat, the suffocation, the pain of the strings digging into his skin – it was all real!

An immense surge of survival instinct tore Gregor violently from his nightmarish reality. So suddenly did he get shoved back into the waking world that he didn’t fully realize it at first. Everything was still so hazy that the colors blurred together into a murky, muddy, mess that Gregor couldn’t even tell what hue was created from it. His focus was still scattered and he felt lightheaded. Gregor felt cloth hugging around his neck and something light was on his back. His throat was forcibly tight. He was still being strangled. 

Gregor flew up from the desk chair and a hoarse gasp flung itself from his mouth, but didn’t make it far into the room. His hands clawed at his throat only to meet the almost plush arms of Puppet blocking access to it. He’d woken up into nearly the same situation that’d been in his nightmare. Now fully faced with his life being a few short minutes away from ending, Gregor fought like a corned animal to get his attacker off of him. He dug his fingers into Puppet’s arms to the point Gregor could feel the thin metal bars at the center. Though the animatronic was frail, Puppet didn’t submit to Gregor’s desperation fuel attempts to pry him off. 

The animatronic ringleader’s gaze was always just in his steadily hazier view, his head slumped over his left shoulder. It bobbed and swung with his wild movement, giving the impression it was just a limp lifeless doll; as it should be, but it still had a presence, a miasma clinging tightly to it. From its wide smile came a barely audible hiss, declaration that Puppet wouldn’t be letting go so easily. 

The animatronic was clearly active, but how? They were only supposed to be active during the night!

With the lack of air making it to his brain Gregor quickly grew tired from his heated struggle. He began wheezed and swaying slightly from side to side, suddenly he felt so weak. No, no, not like this! Gregor reached back and grabbed Puppet by his torso and, with what was left of his strength, he tossed his attacker off. Puppet’s body and legs flew over him; however, the animatronic wasn’t fully off of him. Puppet still hanged onto Gregor with his arms, but its grip was noticeably laxer on his throat.

Gregor sucked in as much air as he could while he struggled to untie the strings wrapped around his throat. Much to his surprise Puppet didn’t put up much of a fight, but Gregor could feel the monster glaring him down from his limp position. Finally after unwrapping the last of the strings from his throat, Gregor flung the gift giver across the room.

Deep, sore, breaths greedily sucked in air and filled his previously deprived lungs. His body shook and still swayed a little, like he was mesmerized with the fact that he could breathe freely again. His legs feeling like they were made of jelly Gregor steadied himself against the desk. A look of fear was still firmly fixated on his face. He didn’t even have the nerve to turn his head to Puppet to gloat that his plan to kill him had failed. No, it’d come far too close to succeeding. All that he’d thought about how the animatronics worked was apparently not completely true. 

“So close…”

Gregor turned his head to Puppet, his blue suffocated complexion traded for a pale one, dotted with sweat. His breathe was unsteady as if he were afraid he’d lose the luxury again if he tried to flaunt it. He stared at the limp form on the ground half expecting it to lung at him, but it didn’t. Yet he remained unnerved, something had been off about what he’d heard.

“So close…”

The words came again. They were said in Puppet’s usual whispery voice, soft yet clear. So clear that it sounded like the ghost child had said it right into his ears, but even that thought didn’t seem completely correct. It was too clear. So clear despite the softness that it had blocked out any other thoughts he’d been having.

“So close…”

The words were coming from inside his head. Gregor backed away from the desk. He shook his head, disbelieving his own revelation. He felt invaded, more than when he realized the ghost had haunted his dreams. The child was in his head, invading his most private sanctum. Fresh fear bubbled up in his chest. He clutched his head and shook it, trying to dislodge the child’s voice as it spoke again. It didn’t work.

“You will pay for what you’ve done…We will break you. One way, or another.”

Gregor’s back bumped into the wall behind him. The feeling of something behind him, stopping him from escaping, made the Gregor feel like he was cornered. His shakes returned with renewed fervor and his heart broke into a panic. “Get out…” He breathed to himself, his pupils constricting as he stared at the carpeted floor beneath him. Everything in his mind felt violated, as if he could feel the child’s prying eyes looking through every corner of his thoughts. It was a presence he couldn’t escape from, not when it was in his head. He couldn’t escape from something in his own mind.

“Get out! Get out! Get out of my head!” Gregor demanded, his nails digging into his own scalp, as his body shook like his bones were rattling inside.

This time no reply came. Gregor was left in an unnatural silence. He stood against the wall for support, if he didn’t he felt like he’d tumble onto the floor and wouldn’t be able to get back up. Gregor stared at the Puppet, waiting for something. The animatronic had to be messing with him. Yes, that had to be it. He wouldn’t break. No, he…just wouldn’t. Gregor knew he’d heard the voice and the thing had tried to strangle him! He wasn’t crazy!

Then why had Puppet gone silent? Was the ghost child preparing to do something? Gregor cautiously looked around the office room, nothing was out of the ordinary. He felt vulnerable now. If the child did something that didn’t require its animatronic vessel he’d have no way of defending himself. Yet, nothing came, Puppet hadn’t even so much as twitched and the presence that’d come off him seemed to have vanished. 

Had the ghost gone? There was no way of Gregor telling for sure. Alarms were still going off in his mind telling him that it was a trick. Puppet was waiting for him to get close so he could finish what he’d started. Gregor couldn’t just cling to the wall forever though, he had work to do, he was running the pizzeria now. Gregor looked at the walkie-talky that he’d left lying on the desk, he could call that guard to come in and take Puppet back to the prize corner. Yes, that’s what he’d do. Better to risk someone’s life than his own. Yes, that’s what he’d do.

Gregor kept his eyes on Puppet as he carefully, one tentative step at a time, walked over to the desk. If a loud noise was made right now he’d probably have a heart attack. A faint humming buzz drew his attention away from the walkie-talky, the computer was still running. Faintly he recalled that he might’ve heard that in the nightmare. Gregor looked at the screen, it was just covered in the supplies orders he’d been going over that were to arrive in the next few days from now. He’d half expected it to be covered it in some message typed out by Puppet. 

Gregor allowed himself to exhale, the breath taking with it a notable amount of stress. He picked up the device and pressed the call button, “O’Conner.” He said into it.

There was a moment’s pause then a rustling sound before he heard Leroy’s hesitant voice reply, “Oh, Scott I was just about to-”

“I need you to come to my office.” Gregor cut in, not in the mood for whatever the guard was going to babble on about. He turned his attention to his unwanted guest, still lifeless on the floor. “There’s something I need you to pick up.” He said, to keep the easily panicky guard from thinking he was about to be reprimanded.

“Okay,” Leroy replied slowly. He seemed to be waiting to be told just what he was going to be picking up. He got no explanation as Gregor released the call button, ending their short conversation.

Gregor let out a long sigh. He looked back and saw the desk chair was up against the wall, a result of his shooting up from the chair. The head of security pulled it back up to the desk and sat down. He took off his security cap and ran his hands through his dirty blond hair, his head was aching, a constant pounding came from his temples. It felt like there was a swarm of angry bees buzzing around in his mind that stung at random. Gregor pressed fingers against his forehead, trying to get his head back on straight. It didn’t stop his headache but he did feel more gathered. He didn’t need Leroy coming in and thinking he was losing it. Bad enough he needed an explanation as to why Puppet was in the manager’s office. 

Click, click, click, clack, tap, tap, tap – click. The sound of typing caught Gregor’s attention. He looked and saw that buttons were being pressed on the keyboard. He scowled at the Puppet that lay across the room and hissed, “What now?”

No response from the Puppet, but the typing continued. Not willing to deal with the child threatening him anymore, Gregor didn’t read what’d been typed and instead used the mouse to exit the program, deleting whatever had been typed. He’d have to redo his work, but currently in Gregor’s mind it was worth it. 

He pressed his hands to his temples, O’Conner had better hurry up. He thought as he rubbed his fingers in circles, the headache wasn’t waning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! A good sized chapter! Been a while! Originally Gregor's nightmare was going to be longer, including more of the nightmares doing thingsbut the thought became to crowded in my head. Also, I want to save them doing things for when I actually get to that arc in my au. As I've mentioned before I do plan on writing the whole thing out. I have some things up for the other parts but their going to be rewritten, their out of dates in some aspects.
> 
> Also, what Puppet says about Gregor is relatively true, but not completely accurate. Gregor is, in some ways, similar to Davey (Purple Guy). Obviously, Davey is much more extreme, but, Gregor has let people die to get what he wants. In the end, their both terrible in their own ways.
> 
> With this chapter, this day is almost done. One or two more chapters to go. I'm not 100% sure as I've had to rearrange events. Also, I managed to add Nightmare into this! Cookie to guess what it means in this, and another cookie for a guess on something else I hinted at with Puppet!


	42. Unease

Leroy looked down at a small stack of papers he held between his hands, a look of unease was written all over his narrow face. It hadn’t stopped at just one other drawing, it didn’t stop at three. Leroy had ended up looking at every single drawing hung up on the wall. He’d given up on trying to look inconspicuous after the fourth picture, his anxiety had compelled him to speed walk everywhere he went and look around worriedly. He’d gotten some odd or concerned looks from costumers but none of them asked what was going on. Some of his coworkers asked what was bothering him and, apparently, someone had felt more comfortable asking a waiter to ask him, and Leroy had replied that he was just feeling antsy. The coworker didn’t look to convinced and told him if he needed a breather that he should step outside for some fresh air, commenting that they wouldn’t tell Gregor about it. Leroy had responded by just grinning reassuringly and nodding.

Before he walked into the staff break room Leroy looked over the stack of pictures, there were seven in total. He felt a sensation of unease run through him, how many kids had gone “missing” at Freddy’s again? Leroy knew at least four had. He wondered if he should look into this, but then he felt he’d been jumping down a rabbit hole that had no sure end. It was bad enough he was already working at the metaphorical warren. 

He took a breath, and pushed the door to the staff room open. Inside there was a couple of people sitting down eating. Leroy didn’t know them but he waved in greeting and they were courteous enough to wave back. The slight lift in mood he gained from the casual exchange faded away as he laid his eyes on the door to the manager’s room. Why was it that he felt like he was in trouble? His thoughts brought his gaze down to the crayon drawings he was holding. On the face of it they looked innocent, albeit the guard added an oddity to them, but Leroy felt they were conveying a grim message.

“You okay?” Leroy’s head shot up. He turned his head to the voice and saw one of the Fazbear staff was eyeing him with a look of concern. 

Leroy offered up a sheepish grin to put him at ease and nodded. With some effort, he opened the door to the manager’s office. “Uh, Mr. Scott?” He called as he opened the door. Carefully he peered his head inside when he got no response. At the desk, Leroy spotted Gregor hunched over, gripping his head like it was about to split apart. It seemed like he had a headache of some sort. Leroy looked at this a moment before concern drove him to fully enter the room. He called him again, “Uh, Mr. Scott…?”

The second-time Gregor raised his head. He looked like he hadn’t slept all week. He shifted to a somewhat slouched position. He didn’t say anything until Leroy shut the door behind him. Leroy notice his voice was horse and sounded as bogged down as he looked, “Took you long enough…” just then he noticed the papers he was holding, “Why do you have papers?”

“It’s what I was about to call you for.” Leroy answered. He held the papers out to Gregor to grab. When his supervisor only stared at them blankly, like he didn’t understand the gesture, Leroy placed them on the desk. For extra measure, he gently pushed them towards him. Leroy brought his hands close to himself and his fingers danced about each other as Gregor drearily picked up the stack.

It didn’t take long for the haze to miraculously clear from the man’s eyes. Spotting this, Leroy spoke again, “I found one after escorting a boy out of the back hall.”

Gregor stopped and looked to him, some sharpness returning to his expression. “There was a child in the back hall? What for?”

Briefly Leroy deliberated with himself if he should mention the Golden Freddy Ethan had claimed to have seen. He decided he would, in hopes that Gregor could put his mind at ease about the claim. Leroy truly hoped that he mind was just over thinking things. Yet, looking at Gregor, he got the sense something was wrong. His gaze didn’t seem completely focused and his skin seemed a paler than when he’d last seen him, which had only been a few hours prior. Was he coming down with something?

“Yes, about six or so? He was wearing a Chica cap, he seemed to know you.” Leroy answered.

Gregor looked off for a bit, he seemed to be thinking back. Leroy waited patiently where he was, understanding that Gregor probably had seen a lot of children at the pizzeria. However, after a couple minutes had passed with no change, he spoke up again, “Sir?” Gregor didn’t respond and he seemed to have become unfocused. 

What was more worrying was the fact he seemed to be drifting off. His head dipping down slightly before swaying back into its former position. Leroy watched with his mouth hanging partially open, he wasn’t sure what to do. He reached out tentatively, thinking he should at least nudge his supervisors shoulder, to wake him up a little. Before he could even reach him, Gregor passed out completely. He slumped over onto the desk with his head resting on his shoulder. Leroy gasped in alarm and quickly shook Gregor’s shoulder while saying, “Sir? Sir! Wake up!”

In an instant Gregor sprang back to like, much like a startled cat. This in turn startled Leroy as well, who pulled back from the desk as Gregor stared at him. His grey eyes wild. Silence settled in the room as Gregor righted himself. He rubbed the side of his forehead while muttering, “What happened…?”

“Erm, you passed out for a second sir…” Leroy answered. He looked at unhealthily pale man with concern. “Sir, are you alright? You seem really tired, and you don’t look well.”

The deathly looking guard stared at him with hazy eyes, he didn’t seem to recognize Leroy. His eyes snapped around Leroy’s features. The red headed guard gulped warily, feeling uncomfortable and a little unnerved by his gaze. Gregor then shook his head and seemingly regathered himself. He turned to face the door and rubbed his face, “Mn fine, I’m fine. I’m fine.” Gregor exhaled through his nose and looked back to Leroy, appearing focused, “Just… Haven’t been sleeping well. Running this place, has taken a toll on me. Been stressed is all.”

Leroy nodded that he understood. Gregor cleared his throat, signaling to disregard his odd moment and got things back on track, “Now, about the kid.”

“Ethan,” Leroy stated.

“Yes, I believe I remember him.” Gregor recollected as he sat back in his chair. 

“Yeah, he,” Leroy laughed, an attempt to lighten the mood though it wasn’t very affective, “seemed to think you were the only guard. He wondered where you were.”

Gregor wasn’t moved by the fact and disregarded it completely. “What was he doing in the back hall?”

“He…” Leroy began slowly. Suddenly he was uncertain about telling Gregor again. He shook it off and finished what he was going to say, “said he saw a Golden Freddy sir.”

“We don’t have a Golden Freddy.” Gregor stated immediately after. His tone was so stern and his response so quick that his subordinate was taken aback. As Leroy looked at him in surprise, Gregor’s gaze steeled and he firmly said, “We don’t have another Freddy. The boy probably just made it up, an imaginary friend or something like that. Or he was just lying altogether to avoid getting in trouble.”

The sternness of Gregor’s words carried an unsaid order for him to not question what he said. With the drawings still in Gregor’s hands, Leroy stayed his course and pointed to them, “I thought so to but then I found those drawings sir.” Gregor looked back to the papers in his hands and looked vaguely confused before flipping through them. “Ethan said he’d seen the Golden Freddy,”

“That we don’t have.” Gregor restated as he examined a drawing.

Leroy continued despite the interruption, “putting something on the wall. I went and checked around and found the drawing of, what I think is, a guard with the Fun Time Foxy head. Then in the spot, that I believe is the one, Ethan mentioned I found the one with the guard and the Bonnie head. I found seven of them, all of them have the guard with an animatronic head. I think Puppet is the only one that isn’t in the pictures.”

“Speaking of,” Gregor said before motioning behind Leroy, “take him back to the prize corner.”

Confused by what he said Leroy looked behind him and was surprised to see the Marionette lying on the floor like a discarded doll. The guard stared at this then looked back to Gregor. “What is Puppet doing in here?”

Gregor shrugged uncaringly and continued to look through the drawings in a disinterested manner. “Don’t know. I went to the restroom, came back and there he was sitting against the wall. Think the prize corner girl tried to scare me, knows I don’t like creepy puppets.”

“Heh, I understand that.” Leroy sympathized. He glanced back to Puppet and felt his own dislike send an unnerved feeling slithering down his spine. He faintly shuddered then looked back to Gregor when he heard the stack of crayon drawings get set back down.

“Look,” Gregor began. There was a brief pause before he continued, “Leroy, I think that these drawings are just some people trying to mess with us. You know, cause a stir because of the old rumors about the missing kids. A distasteful prank at best, mean spirited at worst.”

What Gregor said made sense but Leroy couldn’t fully let go of what Ethan had said, “But what Ethan said, one of the drawings was in the spot he said the Golden Freddy…” His words trailed off as Gregor stood up.

With a completely at ease and sure look, that contrasted sharply with his prior appearance, Gregor looked at Leroy. He smiled and said, “Leroy, I think you’re thinking a little too deeply into this. Ethan is a kid, kids have wild imaginations. Kids also get scared when they get caught doing something they shouldn’t be and will make things up to keep out of trouble.” He put a finger to Leroy’s chest, “And you, are letting those old ghost stories get to your head.”

“I guess you’re right…” Leroy conceded as he looked down at Gregor’s hand, now feeling foolish for getting worked up over what was a small incident. He rubbed his arm self-consciously. “Sorry, about that sir. The coincidence just got to me, what with the missing kids and all.”

Gregor smiled reassuringly to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.” He patted his shoulder before he sat back down. He picked up the drawings again and thumbed through him. “I’ll get rid of these. If you find anymore just crumple them up and toss them. We don’t need any one seeing them. People are still…sensitive about the incidents.” Leroy nodded. Gregor looked past his subordinate, “And don’t forget to take Puppet with you.”

Leroy looked slowly back to the simple animatronic. He felt his skin crawl with invisible ants at the thought of getting near the thing, but he had to do what his boss told him to. Consigning himself to do as he was told he nodded curtly. He walked over to the animatronic, rubbing his arm while doing so to prepare himself for his task. Leroy looked down at the puffy armed thing like he was looking at something unsightly. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Leroy bent down and grabbed Puppet by its skinny waist and slung it over his shoulder. The feeling of the creepy, smiling, Puppet’s arms meeting his back sent unpleasant shivers through his body.

Taking his discomfort in stride, Leroy headed to the door. Before leaving he looked back to Gregor. “Thanks again, for putting my mind at ease, sir.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Gregor answered simply. He waved him off then added, “Go to our technician, he should be in Parts and Services at the end of the hall. He’ll get Puppet set back up.”

Leroy nodded one last time and left.

Gregor looked at the door a moment after it shut, listening to the sound of Leroy walking away. Once he could no longer hear him, he pressed the palm of his hand firmly against his neck as he stretched it to one side and sighed as he got a satisfying pop. He cracked his knuckles as he eyed the computer screen, which showed a plan basic screensaver of a grassy field with a clear sky and a collection of various desktop icons. With a couple of clicks he pulled up the schedule and began looking at all the employees and their corresponding shifts.

 

The Parts and Services room was larger than Leroy expected it to be. Although, now that he saw the sizes of parts that needed to be stored away and some of the tools, it made sense. The hefty metal shelves and large stainless-steel tables; however, took up large chunks of room, making it look cramped. The walkways around the two tables, that were stuck together in the middle of the room, were spacious enough to allow at least two men room to walk around at the same time with some comfort. Somewhat unsettlingly an animatronic endoskeleton was laying on the table like it was about to be autopsied. For the sake of his nerves, he looked towards the sound of someone moving about in the open back storage closet. In the background Leroy could hear some sort of music was playing, sounded like rock but he wasn’t sure on what specific subgenre. A brief curious search found the source to be a small speaker on one of the shelves of suit parts.

Leroy turned his attention to the well-built man who walked out of storage closet in the back, carrying a metal part of some kind. “Oh hey, I was told to come get your help with something.”

Clifton set the part, a thick metal cord filled with wires, down on the table next to the endoskeleton before looking at his visitor. Immediately he homed in on the fact he was carrying Puppet over his shoulder. Clifton frowned, wondering what’d happened that brought the possessed marionette to his room. Clifton walked over to the side of his work table then asked, “What’s wrong with Puppet?”

“Uh, nothing actually.” Leroy answered and then went right into explaining, “Gregor found it in his office.”

“And how did it get there?” Clifton asked. He knew that the dayshift guard wouldn’t have an answer, or at least not the right answer. Clifton knew that the poor child haunting the animatronic somehow had gotten into the room with no one’s noticing. Not questioning the fact that Puppet had been found in the room; however, would come off as odd. So, Clifton questioned it and Leroy told him the lie that had been fed to him.

“Apparently the girl at the Prize Corner wanted to scare Gregor a little,” Leroy uttered an awkward laugh, “since he’s not fond of puppets. So, she put him in the office while he was out for a bit. He needs to get set back up.”

Clifton didn’t bother to nitpick the errors in the lie and simply accepted it. He’d asked Gregor what happened with Puppet later. He nodded, “Alright.”

Clifton led the meek dayshift guard back through the hall and out the side of the party room where the prize corner was located. The sight of the gift giving animatronic being carried over shoulder caught a few eyes of costumers, leading to a couple of kids asking what was wrong with Puppet. Leroy gave quick reassuring answers that nothing was wrong and they were just taking Puppet back to his box. In no time, they arrived at the comfy alcove that housed the prize corner. There to meet them was a young blond clerk, who was currently trying to explain to a child’s mother why Puppet wasn’t present to dance for the kid. The mother oddly seemed more upset by the fact than the kid, her face red at the fact her child was being denied something.

“Ma’am Puppet is in our parts and services getting repaired if you just wait,” Summers’s lie hanged out in the air when she spotted her lie turn out to be a truth. Eager to diffuse the upset costumer, she enthusiastically pointed to Clifton and Leroy, “Oh, never mind, there Puppet is now.”

“About time!” Huffed the mother.

Leroy looked to Clifton for a sign on what to do with an irate costumer. Clifton didn’t respond to the woman right away and walked around her to the Puppet’s box and Leroy trailed behind him. The mechanic gestured with his hands and the guard handed the lightweight animatronic over. Holding Puppet with one arm he flipped a switch on the hidden controls under the counter. With a soft whirr, a connecting device that attached to Puppet’s puppeteer cross lowered down. As Clifton worked to reattach the marionette, he then addressed the costumer, “Sorry about the wait Ma’am, this will only take a moment.”

“It’d better.” The mother responded. Leroy looked over to Summers with a sympathetic smile. Silently Summers returned it with one of gratitude. 

“There we go.” Clifton announced only moments later, Puppet now hanging limply from his suspended puppeteer cross. He reached under the counter and randomly flipped one of the switches that made the animatronic dance. Music began playing and the puppeteer cross began tilting from side to side and moving up and down to make the animatronic dance. Clifton looked to Summers then smiled at the huffy costumer, “On the house.”

As the mother irately said that it better be, then moving on to get a doll for her kid, Clifton moved back over to Leroy. He pointed back towards his work room, “I’ll be back in Parts and Services if you need me.”

Leroy nodded that he understood and Clifton left for the back hall. As he worked his way over he thought over what’d happened. Puppet had, somehow, gotten itself to the manager’s office without anyone noticing. Gregor had lied about how it had gotten there, and Leroy had bought it. If the sheepish guard had suspected anything supernatural he’d likely bought the lie to the sake of his nerves. Clifton could’ve sworn that a man had been working at the prize corner earlier but he guessed he’d gone on break. He had been shut away in parts and services for most of the day, aside from running the occasional show. As for Gregor’s supposed phobia of puppets, Clifton didn’t think he had one, but after his near-death experience…well he wouldn’t blame him for developing one.

Still he planned on talking to him before his shift was over anyway. Clifton looked at the endoskeleton he was working on, he needed to talk to him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop. Forgot to upload this here. Sorry about that. Good news is, I've already written another chapter! So expect that soon. I've also been recently considering making this into a comic when I'm finished writing it. If I do it'll be uploaded at my DeviantArt account on a chapter by chapter basis. In other words, I'll begin uploading after I finish making a chapter. Let me know if you'd like to see that happen! (It'll obviously have mature tags on the graphic scenes)
> 
> Something is off about Gregor...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think! Comments are fuel!


	43. Tensions

Leroy rocked back and forth in his chair out, his green eyes on the tablet screen. After his talk with Gregor nothing else noteworthy had happened. If anything, he was left a little bored. He’d even left the security room to watch one of the mascot shows, solely on the excuse of making sure nothing went wrong. He’d kept an eye out for suspicious behavior while doing so of course, but nothing had happened. It was the second time he’d seen the animatronics perform but Gregor still felt blown away by their performance. It was better than the clunky show he’d seen at that burger place at St. George’s. The cat duo was arguably cuter though.

However, heading out into the party room caused him to catch sight of Ethan and the group of teens he was with. He’d felt a twinge of guilt when he caught sight of the kid still sitting somberly, head hung. Even now Leroy still felt bad about causing the kid’s mood to become so poor, but what else could he have done? They didn’t have a golden Freddy, Gregor had further confirmed that.

He felt himself go still as his mind prodded him with the pictures he’d found…Leroy shook the thoughts from his head. No, they were probably just a stupid prank or…something like that. He found his hand toying with the silver cross pendent he’d had tucked away beneath his shirt. Fingers turning it over, back and forth, as his mind kept lingering on drawings, stomach tying itself into one more knot each time the cross turned. The coolness of the silver was comforted him, but not nearly enough.

Then he recalled what he’d seen happen to Fun Time Foxy. His fingers stopped their dance with the pendent and a cold lump formed in his stomach. The empty eye socket. The hateful glare it’d given him for the brief moment he’d locked eyes with it.

…How could he have forgotten that?

Leroy felt himself sit upright, stiff as a board, when there was knock on the doorway. He snapped his attention to whomever it was. He was surprised to see it was Ethan’s sister’s boyfriend. The teen arched a brow as he looked at what appeared to be an overgrown frightened cat sitting in a chair. Leroy relaxed his posture quickly as he could and discarded his necklace back under his shirt. He flashed a welcoming grin to his guest.

“Oh your…I don’t think I caught your name from Ethan.” Leroy stated in realization, asking the teens name without saying so.

“Mitch.” The teen responded.

“Leroy.” Leroy returned in kind as he turned the chair to face him. “Is there something you need Mitch?”

Seeing the guard’s pleasantly friendly demeanor Mitch took a step into the security office. He still lingered close to the doorway. Despite all the friendly looking merchandise the room was the office of an authority figure. As such Mitch didn’t feel he could be too comfortable in it without appearing disrespectful. Halfheartedly he looked over the paraphernalia that decorated the room before speaking again, “I wanted to ask you about something, it’s about what happened with Ethan.”

Leroy’s smiled dampened slightly. “What about it?”

Mitch noticed the slight dip in the guard’s expression and eyed him, watching for any change as he asked, “Did Ethan ever say why he went into the back hall? I’ve known Ethan for a good while now and it’s odd for him to break a rule like that. He didn’t get in trouble really, and he’s still pretty upset over it. I’m just a little concerned.”

The question left Leroy in a tight spot. He didn’t what he was supposed to say to the teen. If he lied, then Ethan would possibly expose that. Leroy got a faint sense Mitch was suspicious of something, which meant he might believe Ethan of him. Ethan didn’t seem like a bad kid, if their short meeting was anything to go by that is. Then again, if what Ethan claimed was made up Leroy didn’t really have any reason to lie. He’d just leave out the part about Ethan claiming it was a ghost, to avoid causing any possible ridicule to the child.

“Ethan said something about a yellow Freddy. I think he was playing with an imaginary friend, maybe he got a little embarrassed. I can’t say much else. I’m sorry he’s still upset but I had to remove him from the hall.” Leroy answered with a small apologetic frown.

Mitch didn’t seem to be all to satisfied with the answer. Leroy had almost thought that the teen was offended when, out of nowhere, he said, “Did you know there was a golden Freddy once?”

Genuinely surprised, Leroy’s reply tumbled right out of his mouth, “No, I didn’t.”

“Yeah, used to be part of a pair. Fredbear and Spring Bonnie from Fredbear’s Family Diner in New Harmony, a larger town that a few hours’ drive from here. They’d moved over here after an incident. They were decommissioned after two incidents at another location.” Mitch explained clearly and concisely. Leroy was surprised that the teen knew such details about the franchise but with the internet the way it was, Leroy guessed he should be too surprised. Regardless of accessibly of the information, the guard was left a little curious though, about the restaurant’s history and how much Mitch knew.

“That’s interesting, but why tell me this?” Leroy questioned as he gave his tablet a look. He was still on the clock.

“Because Ethan doesn’t know about Fredbear.” Mitch explained. Leroy went still, his finger left hovering over the tablet screen, as Mitch continued, “His sister and Mom don’t like me talking about the restaurants background around him. Considering the…what happened to kids around his age,” his voice faded briefly before he resumed with regained vigor, “it might just be coincidence, but I don’t think it is. Just what were you looking for earlier? On the walls.”

Of course, he saw that…Leroy thought in a berating manner to himself. He attempted to dismiss the teen’s question with a wave of his hand, his eyes still on his tablet. “Nothing, just found an inappropriate drawing and decided checked for others. I found more and I got worked up. That’s all.”

Mitch looked the half of Leroy’s expression, that he could see, over before he nodded silently and backed up a step. Relieved that the teen seemed to have bought his partial fib Leroy allowed his shoulders to deflate. Even still, as he listened to the young adult head back down the hall and watched him leave with his group through the cameras. As he did Leroy felt doubt gnawing at his gut. He changed the view back to the back halls with the visage of Fun Time Foxy’s empty, glaring eye stuck in his head. More vividly than before.

 

“So, how’d it go?” Jayden asked as their group drove away from the pizzeria. He looked over to Mitch who was currently driving his car back to Ethan’s home. They’d spent a lot more time at Freddy’s than they’d intended, partly due to getting caught up talking and partly because of the incident with the guard. Everyone in the group knew about Ethan’s gift and it was partly why they’d been going with him to Freddy’s. They’d have gone to the place anyway but the thought of the kids seeing a ghost only added to the excitement.

Ethan kept his eyes on the road as he answered, “The guard denied anything, but I think he’s hiding something. I basically watched all the color drain from his face.”

“Dang,” Jayden commented, brows arching in surprise. When a thought entered his head a look of concern slowly shifted his expression. “You think management is covering something up, making him stay quiet?”

“Can’t say. I’m going to check the missing peoples reports.” Mitch answered while he stopped the car at a red light. “If this new Freddy’s is going to take cues from the old chain then they’ll file a missing persons report if anything happens to their night guards.”

“Think we should take a look at the place a night?” When Mitch gave him Jayden an incredulous look at his suggestion he immediately clarified what he meant. “Not to like break in or anything. If the animatronics are actually haunted…yeah, not going to mess with that. I’d like to not be stuffed into a bear suit.” 

Mitch laughed at the blunt tone in his friend’s explanation. Jayde’s words caught the attention of their other two friends who was sitting in the back with Ethan. Andrea, a blond who held a tough girl persona about her but was a complete softy with kids, remarked, “Would you rather be stuffed into the fox, chicken, or bunny suits then?”

“How about none of the above?” Jayden responded with matching snark. Andrea laughed amusedly to this.

“If you don’t wanna bust into the place then what? I’m sure we can still get in trouble for peeking in through the windows. There is a guard after all.” Arnold, Andrea’s twin brother, pointed out. Between the two blond twins he looked the more hesitant of the two.

“Exactly.” Jayden grinned and looked at his friends in the backseat. Both of them seemed confused by his response but listen with interest as he explained. “What I’m thinking is we try and talk to the night guard. If those animatronics are haunted, who better to ask? I doubt whatever their paying the person, they’d be willing to talk. I mean I wouldn’t care how much I’m being paid if ghosts were trying to use robots to tear me limb from limb.”

“Yeah, can’t say I would either…” Arnold agreed, face paling a little at the thought. He looked back to Jayden, still seeming a little unsure and healthily cautious. “But would they even talk to us? I mean, we are just a bunch of teenagers. We’re still kids to adults!”

Jayden shrugged in admittance that he couldn’t be certain. “Doesn’t hurt to try.”

At first Arnold deflated at the nonchalant answer. In the end he scratch his head and agreed that what Jayden said was true. They couldn’t really get in trouble for just asking a person a question, so long they weren’t breaking and entering to do it. 

Andrea, getting excited at the idea, grinned eagerly. “I’m totally in. Let’s do this!”

“What do you say Mitch?” Jayden asked their group leader. He gave him a playful grin. “You’re the one with the car here.”

Mitch played along and gave his friend a look, much to his amusement, before he answered, “Yeah, I think it’s worth a shot. But you all better back out on me because you don’t want to get up.”

Laughs were shared briefly, and the plan was made. Arnold, Andrea, and Jayden would get up after five am, meet up, and then Mitch would pick them up at a quickie mart that was near the three of their homes. The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. Ethan was occupied by watching videos on his phone. Ear buds snuggle tucked into his ears. He only removed them when they arrived at his home. The kid said his good-byes and the teens returned them as the boy walked up to the front door.

“Hey.” Jayden said to catch Mitch’s attention after he waved good-bye to Ethan’s mother, who’d opened the door for her son. Mitch gave him a quick glance to show he’d heard him as he watched the door shut. As they drove away Jayden went on, “How is it that Ethan can see ghost? Was he like born with it or what?”

Mitch grimaced at the question, “Oh that…” Jayden gave him a questioning look, which he exchanged with Andrea and Arnold before looking back to Mitch. “Well, you see, there’s a reason he’s always wearing a hat. It’s to hide a bald spot he got from an accident. They’d gotten in a car accident and Ethan…“slipped away” for a short while.” Silence settled in the car as the teens took in the gravity of what’d just been said. A few moments later Mitch regathered himself and wrapped up what he had to say, “Since then, he’s been able to see these things.”

“Damn, that must’ve been…hard…for them to go through…” Andrea said softly, summing up what was also going through Arnold and Jayden’s minds. The two other boys mumbled in agreement.

Mitch nodded, “Yeah, it was. I’d just started getting close to Britany at the time. It was pretty hard on her and I can’t even think how hard it must’ve been on their Mom.” Muttered agreements came from his friend. Not wanting to let the tense silence linger any longer Mitch turned on the radio. Once the mood lightened sufficiently he spoke up again, this time speaking in a much lighter tone, “How about we go to my place and play some video games? My family restocked on soda and chips yesterday.”

His friends cheered in unison. An unsaid agreement was made, putting the tense moment behind them. The rest of the ride they discussed what games to play and poked fun at each other’s skills. Mitch was happy that the tension had been relieved and while he looked forward to hanging out with his friends, he always did, his mind was focused on their planned meeting with Freddy’s night guard. He wondered how that’d go and if they’d find anything out.

If they did, what’d they do then? He decided if they did, they’d do what they could to help the poor guard out.

 

Leroy sighed as he sat back down into chair in the security office after using the restroom. Absently he looked at the figures on his desk, all four of the main cast stood side by side. He picked up the Bonnie figure and fiddled around with the points of articulation, making Bonnie wave, look like he was doing the robot, and other such poses. He returned Bonnie back to his pose of holding his guitar and put him back between Freddy and Foxy. With nothing else to do he picked the tablet again.

“What the?” He said when he felt his fingers meet paper on the back of the tablet. Turning the device over in his hand he saw a piece of paper had been stuck to the back. Leroy stared at the paper, it was blank, but he had a sinking feeling what was on the other side of it. 

 

Just throw it away, just throw it away, he kept telling himself inside his head. He didn’t throw it away. Carefully, as if it would bite his hand, Leroy pulled the paper off the back of the tablet. The tape peeling off the tablet rang like a hiss in his ears. Leroy put the tablet back on the office table before he turned the paper front side up.

“He isn’t him. It’s HIM.”

The words were scrawled in scarlet red across the top and bottom of the page. The manner it was written was harsh and sloppy, like the person who’d written it didn’t have a lot of experience writing or was in a rush. Leroy didn’t know which unsettled him more, the cryptic message or the picture itself. In the middle of the paper was a guard, but this one was different from the ones on the other pictures. This one wasn’t colored completely purple. The guard this time had the typical flesh color tone of a Caucasian, but the grin and black eyes with white pupils remained. 

A cold rock of settled itself in the pit of his stomach, and it was growing. Leroy wanted to just crumple the picture up and toss it into the garbage, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t ignore his gut instinct screaming at him that something was wrong, very wrong. Leroy folded the picture up and stuck it roughly into his front pants pocket.

Hand shaking Leroy pulled his phone out of his back pocket and checked the time. It was twenty past six. He was nearing the end of his shift, but he still had over an hour to go. Leroy jammed his phone back into its pocket and anxiously scratched at the sleeve covering his arm. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He didn’t know for sure, but he had a bad feeling about this.

“It’s going to be okay, everything is going to be okay…” Leroy muttered feverishly to himself. He didn’t believe his own words, but he had to try and calm himself somehow. He wiped his forehead, he was beginning to sweat. When did the office air get hot? Leroy shook his head and snatched the tablet back up, deciding to distract himself with work. He flicked through the cameras at random as his mind focused on the picture he’d found. 

What did it mean? Who wasn’t themself and who was HIM?

A little voice in his head nagged at him, telling him his anxiety was getting the better of him. That nothing was going on and he was just freaking himself out again. This time Leroy disregarded it as he came to a conclusion, there was one person he could go to find out if the pizzeria was haunted. The night guard.

Yes, that’s what he’d do. He’d wake up early and catch the night guard after they finished their shift. With a plan made Leroy felt himself settle and finished his shift with no further problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now the chapters are all caught up on this site. Get ready folks, shit is about to hit the fan and it won't be stopping until the story ends. Start placing bets on who you'll think live or die. Also, I'm considering making a comic of this once this story is finished. If I do it'll be posted on my DeviantArt (Username: Miss-DNL, same as this one), if I do i'll be posting parts in a chapter by chapter basis, in other words I'll complete a chapter then upload a page, or two, once a week while I work on the next chapter. Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing that happen!
> 
> As always hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought of the chapter!


	44. Closing Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: If you are sensitive to themes of suicide please skip over the part in italics.

The day had come and gone, the sky had grown dark, and currently dayshift crew was getting things squared away. The kitchen workers were cleaning up the daily mess left behind from a day of cooking, the waiters and clerks were cleaning the party tables, and the janitor handled the floors. The pizzeria’s catchy droning music had been, to some’s relief, finally shut off, leaving only the background noise of people busily moving around. The manager’s office, on the other hand, was nearly silent aside from the subtle hum of the computer.

Without warning the phone on the desk let out its loud cry, subsequently it was picked up a moment later.

“Freddy Fazbear’s head of security Gregor Scott speaking, what is-”

“Oh, Gregor it-it’s Bethany, Herald's wife. Remember?” Her words were quick, rushed, leaving her stumbling over her own words. She sounded like she was verge of crying, her breathes frantic and unsteady.

“Yes, I remember you.” The tone changed a little, sounding vaguely uncertain, “What's the matter? You sound upset. Is-” A short pause, words stalled before continuing, “has something happened to Herald?”

“Ye-yes…” She was definitely crying now. Her sobs came through the phone clearly. Several times she tried to explain what happened but could barely get any words out before breaking down. Any words she did managed were choked and garbled to the point of barely being understandable.

“Bethany, I need you to try and steady yourself. Tell me what happened, is Herald okay?”

“No, no…no he-he isn’t…” Bethany managed, still sobbing between words, through the phone. There soft rustling, possibly a tissue being pulled from a box, before she continued, “I-I came downstairs after I heard some-something b-banging in the kitchen,” she whimpered softly to herself, “I-I thought someone’d had-had broken in! I…I even had grabbed one of H-Herald’s golf clubs…”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t a burglar.”

Bethany simpered something that sounded like no. After that she became frantic again, her tone raising to hysterics, “Herald! He-he was trying to kill himself!”

“What?”

“We-we don’t have any guns in the home. So…so, he-he wa-was trying to c-cu-” She was reduced to a sobbing mess again. Words became a garble mess between choked sobs. Undoubtedly her eyes were red and puffy from crying, face flush, stained with streaks of tears, nose probably running.

“He was trying to cut his own throat!” Bethany exclaimed in a shrill shriek of hysteria.

 

* * *

_Halls that she’d lived in for decades suddenly were unfamiliar. Once predictable corners could hold more than just the kitchen she’d cleaned earlier that day. A dissonant clattering, of what she could guess was the silver wear being shoved around in the drawer, caused Bethany to jump. She bit down on her lower lip, inwardly telling herself to be ready for whatever hid around the corner._

_Her hands tightened around the stainless-steel golf club she had herself wielding like a sword. She wasn’t about to play hapless victim, not when Herald was in no state to handle a burglar. Bethany stalled. Where was her husband? He hadn’t been in the bedroom. Had he stumbled into the intruder? It didn’t sound like a fight was going on. Something wasn’t right._

_Another sound from the kitchen urged her out of her hiding spot. The golf club was tossed to the ground when she was met with the sight of her husband readying to slit his own throat. She’d worried about this ever since his mental health began deteriorating. Now her nightmare was a reality._

_The struggle happened so fast. She pleaded, begged, for him to put the kitchen knife down, but his hand was clamped around that thing like his life depended on it. Somehow during the struggle she’d been tossed to the ground. Bethany would never, ever, be able to see the look of complete terror on her husband’s face. He spoke to her but his eyes, so distant, stared at the entrance way behind her. Eyes hollow and full of panic-stricken fear._

_“H-he’s coming for me. I-I can’t, I can’t let him get me.” Herald shook his head. Face streaked with tears, he whimpered like a kicked dog, “This-this is all my fault, all my fault. Vargas was right-I should have left this alone…” An expression of grave defeat overcame his face. A face of resignation. “It’s all my fault, I’ve woken up a monster…”_

_Bethany pleaded, verging on getting on her knees to beg her husband to calm down. The knife was too close to his throat, its sharp point hardly a hair’s length away from the skin, for her to be willing to risk trying to take it from him. Hours from now she’d barely remember what she said aside from, “Herald, dear, please! Please put that down! We-we can get help for you! Everything will be okay, I-I promise! Just, please, please-”_

_“Nothing will be okay.”_

_The strong tone of certainty in her husband’s voice made Bethany’s words come to a halt. She was stunned. For a moment, she found herself believing him, but her rationality quickly took the wheel again. She’d knock him out if that’s what it’d take to save his life, but she wouldn’t get a chance to._

_“I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.” The grief in his eyes was genuine before he cut a red ribbon around his neck with one clean slice._

_Silence._

_Then a heavy thud followed by a scream._

* * *

“Th-the ambulance came a while after. I-I don’t know how long it took but it seemed like ages!” Bethany continued, voice still distraught and cracking in places. “I…I should’ve taken him to a clinic when he-he started going on about that decaying rabbit…But-but I couldn’t bring myself to even bring it up…” Her words slurred together as she began to weep once more. The only intelligible words that could be made out were, “My fault, all my fault.”

The response she got over the phone was silence. Bethany only registered this once her sobbing petered out again. In fact, Gregor had been completely silent during her retelling of what’d happened. She waited a while, thinking he was simply waiting for her calm down. Still she only received silence. Carefully she spoke up, surely, he hadn’t just up and left, “Gregor…? Are you still there?”

“So sorry to hear this. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

The tone of the call ending cut in before Bethany could even question the response. Immediately she dialed the restaurant’s number.

_“We're sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again.”_

* * *

The air in the parts and service’s room was still chilly as Clifton had gotten used to it being. Since the day shift guard, Leroy, had asked him to hook Puppet back up to his pulley system the mechanic/technician had been left alone to his own devices, but he didn’t feel alone. The air held the weight of another, unseen, presence. Clifton didn’t know if it was the children, or someone else, or if it was just his paranoia. At this point all three had equal chances of being correct, though Clifton would prefer two over another. Though, as much as he’d wished it was just him paranoid he knew that was, unfortunately, not the case.

Clifton stopped working on his current project when he felt a pang of hunger hit the pit of his stomach. Upon feeling that, Clifton realized he didn’t know how much time had passed. He turned himself around to where his cellphone was sitting on the metal shelf. With a press of the home button the screen lit up. Clifton utter a swear under his breath when he saw it was a few minutes after ten thirty pm. His shift was nearly over. It felt like only a few minutes ago he’d just gotten back from hooking Puppet back up. He grabbed a dingy blue rag that hung out of one of his pockets and wiped off his forehead. How worn down and sweaty he was finally sinking in. Between him and the rag, the rag was probably in better condition. Clifton felt like he hadn’t taken a break all day, and now that he thought about it…he hadn’t. With a slight turn of his head he saw his lunch bag still sitting on the shelf under the work bench.

“No wonder I’m starving…” Clifton said to himself as he rubbed one of his eyes. Sleep had been difficult this week, he blamed it on his guilt. He helped trap the children, with their killer. It was his fault. He had to do what he could to fix this. His stomach would have to wait, he had to go talk to Gregor before he left for the day. No way was Gregor going to risk having another run in with the angry spirits.

Clifton was just about to leave when he realized that his phone was still playing music. He blinked his eyes and shook his head, trying to regain focus. A sensation of tiny insects skittered across the forefront of his mind. Clifton wiped the rag across his forehead once more in attempt to dispel the phantasmal feeling. He exited his phone from its music app, silencing the noise, before he exited his workroom. The cool air of the pizzeria was more prominent as he moved, like gentle cold breaths. Faintly he wished the costumers were still here, their movement kept the air warmer.

The pizzeria outside of the parts and services room was quiet. It seemed to Clifton that he was possibly the only one present. The rest of the staff had all clocked out for the day. He hoped he hadn’t missed Gregor. If he did, he’d have to wait till tomorrow to tell him what he’d come up with. Inwardly he scolded himself for not getting his phone number. Trouble sleeping and anger towards the selfish security head had clouded his judgement. Clifton put his troubled thought aside and continued to the staff lounge, no reason to get worked up until he confirmed for sure that Gregor had left.

The relief was slight, tempered by his disdain, when he saw Gregor Scott sitting at the managers desk. Clifton’s tired expression soured with a stiff frown at how comfortable the guard looked at the manager’s desk. How could he be comfortable with their situation? Using poor hapless people, who only wanted a decent job, as sacrificial lambs just to keep angry, suffering, ghosts of children occupied? They had the murderer’s corpse hidden in a sealed off room! The thoughts alone were ruining his physical and mental health, how could any sane person be okay with this? Let alone sleep at night!

“Gregor.” The guard turned his attention away from the computer monitor and looked at him inquiringly. “I want to talk to you and show you something I developed.”

Gregor gave the monitor a glance then nodded. He pulled himself up from the desk chair, stretched his back briefly, and popped his neck. Clifton found this sudden aloofness both aggravating and strange. All week Gregor had been like a coiled spring, just waiting for something to jump out at him.

“Alright, I’m guessing it’s in parts and services right?” Gregor asked with a quirk of his brow, sounding genuinely curious.

Clifton only nodded and lead the shorter man to his work room. Gregor looked around the room once they arrived, presumably to try and pick out what Clifton had created. Initially his eyes landed on a completed animatronic endoskeleton that laid on the main work table. His attention switched over to Clifton as he picked up what looked to be a remote off a thinner work bench that was up against a wall.

“A remote?” Gregor mused aloud. He moved over to Clifton’s side and eyed it with intrigue. Unable to figure what it was for, off the face of it, Gregor asked, “How will it help the night guard? Will it turn the animatronics off?”

“No.” The head of security looked vaguely surprised. “I figured if their haunted, turning them off wouldn’t do much. Instead, I configured this to wirelessly lock their joints. All of them, at the same time. Took some doing but I got this hooked up to the animatronic’s wireless connection. Programed the joint lock into the remote then added the command to the animatronics over the week.”

“Are you sure that the ghosts won’t just,” Gregor held a pause to find the right way of putting what he had to ask, “override? The joint locks?”

Clifton’s uncertainty was clear as day. He shook his head. “No, I’m not certain of that. There wasn’t any real way to test if they could undo the command, but I can show you that it works.”

He switched the remote on, which pulled Gregor’s attention right back to it, then pressed the sole button at was at the center of the remote. Gregor’s attention snapped over to the endoskeleton that laid on the table as a series of simultaneous metal snaps occurred. Clifton set down the remote down then attempted to move on of the animatronic’s arms. The joints effectively locked, the nudge did little more than cause the whole metal form to shift slightly. Arms tucked behind his back Gregor leaned over the table and examined the animatronic. After a moment of checking that the animatronic was indeed immobile, by prodding several of the joints, Gregor stood back up.

“Seems locked down tight to me.” He noted. Gregor turned to Clifton, hand held out, “I’ll just let the night guard know to test it right when they begin to move.”

To Gregor’s confusion Clifton held it out of reach. Clifton finally allowed his disdain for the man show, his tone seething with bitter dislike that verged on loathing, “I’m only handing this over on **one** condition.”

Clifton was nearly half a foot taller than Gregor, who was average height for a man, and had the body of a well worked mechanic. In every way he was more intimidating than the security head. Frustratingly enough though, Gregor seemed more annoyed than intimidated. He eyed Clifton in a critical manner, lowered his hand, and tucked it back behind himself.

“And what’s that, Schwartz?” He asked. There was a bite to the way he said the surname.

“You **swear** to me that we look for a way to put the kids to rest.” Gregor gave him a questioning look. Clifton pushed onward, “I know we have no clue about how, but-please,” He practically pleaded. “Just look at it this way. If we put them to rest. Then there’ll be nothing to worry about! No more dead guards, no more haunting. You want this business to move forward, right? Then work with me to find a way to give them peace.”

Gregor’s eyes light up and he went still. “I…” His eyes glazed over with a thousand-yard stare. Whatever he was looking at now, it wasn’t Clifton. It didn’t look like he was looking at anything anymore. He was just staring, eyes seemingly empty of any thought.

As seconds, then minutes slipped by Clifton’s dislike towards his coworker turned into concern. He was starting to look lifeless as a mannequin. Unsettled Clifton decided it was time to incite a response from him. “Gregor?” Nothing. Unease made its home in his gut. Clifton gathered his nerves and decided to yank the metaphorical Band-Aid off, roughly he shook the man’s shoulder. This time Gregor did snap from his daze.

“Are you alright? You zoned out…” Clifton stated as Gregor shook off whatever it was that’d overcome him.

“Huh? Oh, heh.” Gregor, seemingly amused, gave him a small grin, “I’m fine. Just tired is all, Schwartz. Thanks for the concern though.” Clifton eyed him a little. Now, Gregor was just acting odd. Almost like he was trying to be, friendly? Despite saying he was tired he didn’t act it, but he did look it. Clifton refocused as Gregor held his hand out for the remote again, “But, your right, there is no downside to your “condition”.” When Clifton didn’t hand over the remote Gregor added, “I’ll help.”

Now satisfied Clifton handed over the remote, which Gregor graciously took. He eyed it over while asking, “You have any ideas?”

Clifton, deflated from his stiff as stone glare, admittedly shrugged and shook his head, “Nothing for sure. A proper burial, maybe?” His guilt towards helping renew the victims torment welled up inside. Anxious he turned back towards the endoskeleton, hands gripping the end of the table. Vaguely he wondered if this endoskeleton he’d built was also haunted. A pour, tormented, victim, trapped and forced to entertain the living with no way out. No wonder they were so angry. Full of shame everything became dismal, perhaps he deserved everything that was heading his way…

“Of course, we’d need to find the bodies. To do that we’d need to solve a three-decade old unsolved crime…” Clifton stated dully as he looked down at the bare animatronic.

“Yeah, it’s been so long…” Mutely Clifton nodded to this. In three decades the location the bodies were hidden would look completely different. Landmarks could’ve been lost to time. Behind him Gregor sighed, “I don’t even remember where I put them.”

It took a moment for Clifton to properly register what Gregor had said. In that same moment an explosion of pain blossomed on the back of his head. He crumpled up against the metal table for support, his consciousness fading quickly. Before everything faded to black he heard a familiar sound, whistling of a catchy jingle. Another blossom of pain sprouted from the back of his head and his sight gave into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to post more than this for the next ch, but, as usual, it ended up going on longer than expected. But! I've been very eager to get to this part! I'm also excited to finish the next chapter. Good news, I've got at least half of that already written.
> 
> Oh, we also got to see how Herald was doing. So. That happened. Might need to change the maturity rating. Let me know if you think so.


	45. Preshow

Clifton uttered a slow groan as he came to and then winced in pain right after. It felt like he’d been hit on the back of the head with a metal rod…The sensation was familiar due to an accident during mechanics class while he was in college. Some dumbass had been messing around and he’d received the repercussion of it, a swift knock upside the head. Clifton’s head rolled to the side, tentatively he pried an eye while trying to recall what in the world had happened. He was greeted with a near pitch-black darkness. The sole ray of light came from underneath a doorway. Clifton opened his mouth to try and call out for help. What he managed sounded more akin to a raspy groan, than a call for help. His bell had been so thoroughly rung, he could barely make a noise.

With words not an option Clifton decided, through his delirium, to try and move over to the door. His attempt to move himself was reprimanded by several, sharp, slicing and stabbing pains all over his torso, along with his arms. A cry of pain shot from his mouth, which caused the knot on the back of his to protest the sudden jerk. Clifton gasped to himself and he blinked tears out of his eyes. The fresh teardrops left streaks of warmth down his cold face. Wherever he was it was cold, not as bad as a freezer but a tad more than chilly. His torso and arms; however, were kept warm by whatever entrapped them. Sweat was trapped between his arms and thick work shirt, increasing his discomfort.

Whatever he was stuck in, he needed to get out. It was cramped and hurt bad. He carefully attempted to move his hands. With luck, he found that he could move them with only mild discomfort. There was a slick and warm substance between his finger. Initially he thought it was sweat, but it felt more viscous than that. 

Clifton’s foggy train of thought was derailed when he heard a familiar jingle, whistling, caught his attention. It sounded like Freddy’s virally catchy tune but was different in ways he couldn’t place. He wasn’t versed in the mechanics of music. Something in Clifton’s gut instinct; however, told him danger was lurking just beyond the door. Any thoughts of calling attention to himself were immediately vetoed. He clamped his mouth firmly shut. In his battered head, he hoped that if he kept quiet whoever it was would go away.

Still wanting to know where he was Clifton looked around but there wasn’t much visible to him. He did note that the room seemed small. Outside his dark space shoes hitting linoleum floor was heard. The whistling was getting closer. Clifton stopped, for a moment, it seemed like the person was going to walk in. This wasn’t the case. The footsteps and whistling stopped. Shortly after, the footsteps started up again, stopped again, and then the sound of clunky objects being moved around. Clifton couldn’t hazard a clue what was going on outside his space.

The hell was going on? Where was he and how did he here? And what was he stuck in? Were the only thoughts going through Clifton’s anxious mind.

He became more frantic when the footsteps sounded right outside of his small dark space. Clifton looked all around himself. For what, he wasn’t sure, but he had to find something. He learned something hard and metal was just behind his head, when his already throbbing skull smacked right into it. A loud pained yelp sprung from his mouth and left him dizzied again. This oddly didn’t seem to alert the person outside his space, as the door didn’t immediately get tossed open. This left the pained and dazed Clifton confused. 

When the door did open, a brief while after, the white spots had cleared from Clifton’s vision. He was by then coherent enough to feel his heartrate pick up as it slowly glided open. The technician and mechanic stared at a plain, white painted, brick wall and familiar dark colored door. Then it clicked. Carefully he looked around again, sure enough, behind him was a metal bookcase full of spare suit parts. He was in the parts and services supplies closet and stuck inside a Freddy Fazbear torso. Beams and wires were cutting into him, like he was a fresh hunk of meat.

Before he could question how this happened something poked itself around the corner. Clifton froze up like a deer in headlights. In the doorway was, Bonnie? The bunny’s long purple ears hung off at a jaunty angle. With the light to his back, Bonnie’s expression was shrouded in shadow. Only his white teeth were barely visible. He seemed to be gleefully smiling at him. For what reason, Clifton didn’t really want to know.

“Well, look whose awake!” Bonnie chirped cheerily. Clifton stared, surprised to hear the bunny’s happy-go-lucky voice come out from the mask. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but something told him that wasn’t right. He then realized that the animatronic didn’t have any line of dialogue remotely close to that. That meant this wasn’t the animatronic he was looking at, but the voice sounded spot on. Uncertainty squirmed in his gut because of that.

“Who…are you?” Clifton managed as he dubiously stared at the bunny. Was he in some sort of strange nightmare?

Merry laughter came from the bunny and he shook his head, like he couldn’t believe he’d just been asked that. The laugh sounded correct as well. Clifton had only worked at Freddy’s for a week, but after listening to the animatronics do their shows over and over…he felt he knew their voices by heart. The bunny bounded into the room with the gusto of a proud performer. 

“Ta-dah! It’s me, your pal, Bonnie the Bunny!” Bonnie announced, standing center stage, one arm held upwards as the other motioned to himself.

Clifton’s jaw hung open as he continued to stare, not believing what was happening. A small metallic silver rectangle on the supposed bunny’s chest helped him snap out of his trance. Now angry, Clifton shouted at the masked man, “Gregor! The hell do you think your doing!? Get me out of this suit!”

_Gregor_ didn’t seem fazed by his demand and innocently tilted his head to the side, causing the ears to sway with the mask. Clifton closed his mouth. The way the masked moved with the head, was too fluid and made him go quiet for the moment. _Gregor_ clicked his head all the way back over to the left, to the point the side of the mask was resting on his shoulder. One ear laid on top of the other. 

“Gregor? I’m not Gregor.” He stated.

The earnest innocence in the Bonnie voice caused Clifton’s skin to crawl. He sounded so honestly confused, but that wasn’t right. He could see it was him. Out of defensiveness, wanting _Gregor_ to knock off the act, Clifton reasserted his point “Bullshit! I can see your uniform Gregor! Your name tag is sitting right there!”

_Gregor’s_ head perked back to its upright position. He eyed the name tag, sitting right above his golden security badge, seeming to mull over its presence. Wordlessly he plucked it right off his uniform, creating a small tear, and tossed it into the parts and service’s room.

“Nope! Nope! Nope!” _Gregor_ chanted, still using Bonnie’s cartoony voice. He jerked forward, quickly swatted Clifton upside the head, making him recoil back. He stepped back into his previous spot and began swinging his hands around, shuffling his feet, as he sang, “I’m not Gregor! Nope! No sirree!”

Clifton had no response for the display. The situation felt and looked so surreal. He could only think that _Gregor_ had lost it and was holding him captive for whatever demented reason. Through his reinvigorated pain, he recalled that _Gregor_ had been the one to knock him out. This realization was of little help to him for the moment. He watched as _Gregor_ continued the repetitive motions and realized this was the “dance” that Freddy did. Wasn’t so much a dance as it was a nice-looking shuffle. 

While dancing, _Gregor_ began to whistle once more. The sound clearer now, Clifton began to feel a creeping sense of familiarity. He’d heard it before today. When working in the parts and services room, alone.

“Who are you?” He wasn’t looking at Gregor. Whoever was looking at him from behind the bunny mask, it wasn’t him.

The whistling slipped into a questioning hum. His head swayed to the side and the Bonnie voice responded, “You still haven’t figured it out, hm? I’d thought you’d be _smarter_.” The insulting edge to the voice, uncharacteristic to the friendly mascot, was clear as day. A faux sigh, “Oh well…” 

In the next moment, _Gregor_ perked up. He snapped finger then exited stage right without another word, the door shutting behind him.

Clifton strained his ears to try and hear what was going on, all he could manage was the sound of rummaging tools, or the like being moved around. Then there was a hollow “thunk”, he wasn’t sure what the rest was, but it lasted for a while. Brief silence. Then footsteps heading back over to the supply room door. Clifton felt himself stiffen, in attempt to ready his nerves for whatever was going to happen now.

The door opened again. Clifton expected, whoever he was dealing with, to make a similar entrance as he did last time. Instead, the bunny masked person just walked in, posture straight and shoulders squared. He turned to face Clifton and…said nothing. He stood there, arms at his sides, still as possible, staring down at him. In the light from his work room, Clifton could see some modifications had been made to the mask. Some distinct changes that Clifton immediately recognized and left him petrified.

The name was stuck in his throat, it didn’t want to come out. The man that wasn’t Gregor mocked him for this as he walked forward, one step at a time. “S-sp-spa-spring-,” In a snap he slammed Clifton up against the metal shelving, digging in the beams and wires deeper into his body. **_“Springtrap!”_** __

Clifton gasped, the pain was like he got branded on multiple parts of his body at once. He could feel fresh blood seeping out of him. The possessed Gregor released him roughly and took a few steps back, laughing amusedly in a voice that wasn’t the body’s own. Gregor’s normal voice wasn’t a very deep one it was smooth, usually with a dull tone. This one was much different from Gregor’s and the Bonnie’s. It was several octaves lower and smooth as sandpaper. 

_**_“Glad you caught on, don’t think I could’ve been clearer than this…”_ ** _Springtrap pointed to the Bonnie ear that was now missing its upper half. Then to the carved-up mouth, the teeth were now left exposed and gnarled. Through his pain, Clifton noted he sounded a bit like someone from off the street, though he wasn’t sure with the ethereal echo to the voice. It was just off enough that it sounded normal but not right at the same time._ _

__Clifton opened his mouth to speak but Springtrap cut him off, ** _“Don’t bother ask’in about Scott here. He’s…asleep.”_** _He then scoffed, ** _“Nearly woke him though, he actually liked your idea. Ah, so close.”_** _Thanks to the carved grin, Clifton didn’t need to see the snide grin he had Gregor’s face wear. Clifton bristled and pulled his face as far away as he could when Springtrap dipped his masked visage down to him. They were only a few inches apart, but those inches nearly felt nonexistent. Clifton swore he could smell the rank odor of decay. ** _“I’ll be sure to let him see what he did tomorrow.”_** ______

_____Everything seemed to go still for Clifton. The precious blood seeping out of him more evident. He knew what the murder meant, but he felt compelled to ask. He swallowed, his throat felt parched, “What?”_ _ _ _ _

_____Maybe it was the blood loss, but the mask’s grin seemed to curl as Springtrap pulled back. ** _“That he killed you.”_** ____ _ _ _

______“No-No, you did this! Not him!” His argument meant nothing, but building panic demanded he protested._ _ _ _ _ _

______**_“But he did.”_ ** _Springtrap’s voice progressively grow angrier as he went on, ** _“ He dragged me out of my resting place! He and everyone else involved will suffer for it!”_** _He was practically screaming at Clifton by the end of it, but then, he stood back up and exhaled. The murderer’s demeanor dropped back to a more collected one. Springtrap pulled a folded paper out from Gregor’s pocket, held up for his captive to see. ** _“Even got a nice list, complete with info, to do it.”_** _____ _ _ _ _ _

_________Clifton stared at the paper, panic over took him, and he began to struggle to move. What he planned to do if he managed to get up, he didn’t know, but he had to something. Everyone’s lives were more on the line than before, and not just the night guard’s. Springtrap just stood and watched the writhing mechanic futile thrash in the suit, the paper held taunting like prize._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“The others don’t know anything about you! Their innocent! Leave them alone!” With each move he made he felt his body get cut into again and again. Try as he might, he couldn’t even get himself off what he believed to be a chair. He felt his legs were tied tightly to the chairs’. Clifton couldn’t even get them to so much as budge. Around his knees and ankles were tough cords meant for the animatronic’s. He was stuck fast, there was no chance of him getting up from his spot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________**_“True.”_ ** _Springtrap admitted through Gregor, as he tucked the list back into a back pocket. A faint chuckle wafted from the mask, ** _“But that’s never been an issue for me.”_** ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Clifton clenched his jaws out of disdain. It only took the thought of who he was speaking with to figure out what he was referencing. Springtrap gave an amused grunt when Clifton only glared at him. It didn’t seem like Clifton was going to speak, so he continued, ** _“This’ll be a perfect way to finish my horror show, ending Freddy’s.”_** ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Horror show? That’s what this is, just a show for you?” Clifton questioned. He could only glare at the homicidal phantom who leered at him from the masked. For the moment, his anger towards him override was what impending._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________**_“Of course. I was an entertainer for this franchise.”_ ** _The phantom’s words were so casual, like he was simply speaking about his employment and nothing else. He leaned his head back down to Clifton’s eye level, hands on his knees. The smell of rot stung Clifton’s nose that was already tainted with the odor of his own blood. It seemed to be coming from Gregor’s breath, regardless Clifton gave a restrained cringed at the smell. A reminiscent tone dripped into Springtrap’s calm ethereal voice, ** _“It wasn’t intentional, really, but I made an entertaining night show. Rumors made about me and it were the talk of the town.”_** ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Springtrap observed Clifton, whose face was beginning to pale. Saying nothing to that, he righted himself and flicked his hands out. ** _“But, it’s time to close shop.”_** _The matter-of-factness rung as a grim finality in his words. Springtrap cocked the mask to the side with an excited eagerness, ** _“But, it won’t end there. Not even close.”_** _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________That said, Springtrap turned around and walked out of the storage closet. Clifton watched him leave, unable to do anything to stop him. He was beginning to feel sluggish, his eyelids felt a little heavier than he recalled them being. The sound of the murderer’s voice pulled him from his stupor, ** _“Tell me, Schwartz, which is your favorite? Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, Chica?”_** _Clifton stared at the doorway, what was he on about? He stayed silent and the killer went on, ** _“Mangle?”_** _No response. Unfazed by the silence, Springtrap adds, ** _“Other two won’t work.”_** ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________Clifton remained quiet, a weak show of defiance but it was all he had._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________After some time passed, Springtrap took the choice into his own hands. The sound of a hollow mask was heard and then it being placed on the work table. The serial killer hummed to himself as he worked with it. Clifton began to notice the heaviness of his eyelids again. Blood was still seeped from his various wounds. The chill in the storage room seemed more notable. His attention perked back up when he heard footsteps. He wasn’t sure but Springtrap’s return seemed faster than expected._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________Now wearing his work gloves, the killer held a Foxy mask in his hands. Springtrap gave tsk, like anyone would to a disobedient child, ** _“Won’t match the suit, but you didn’t say anything.”_** ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Clifton pressed his head back as far as he could as the mask got closer. There was no escape, he knew this, but survival instinct had him struggle. Foxy’s head was narrower than Freddy’s, leaving less room between the beams. Seemingly every inch of his head was scored by the thin metal pieces. By the time Springtrap had it securely stuck on he could no longer see, his eyes had been cut._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________**_“There we go.”_ ** _Springtrap said over his victim’s simpering, agonized moans. A nice layer of red was already coating Clifton’s neck as he weakly swayed his head. A whine came from him when Springtrap grabbed the mask and made him meet his gaze. A sadistic sneer was no longer hidden in his voice, ** _“Almost done, just the limbs to go. Don’t worry, death isn’t so bad. The pain just…”_** _A laugh that didn’t sound right came from him. It sounded amused yet fake. The mask’s grin became lopsided as he titled his head, ** _“never, ever, ends.”_** _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________Clifton only uttered choked whimpers. He didn’t notice when the serial killer left, nor when he came back with the suit limbs. It was a hodgepodge collection, a leg from Bonnie and one from Chica, a Foxy hook arm and a white arm from Mangle. At first, Clifton’s cries rose to their former heights but quickly they became weaker and weaker. By the end of it the palms of the gloves were splattered with blood, from roughly forcing and twisting the parts on over flesh. This didn’t matter and Springtrap wiped them off on Gregor’s pants._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________He looked at the suit that encased a man and the blood that was already seeping from it. Springtrap lifted Clifton’s eyes back him, grin on the mask still ever present, ** _“I’d love to stay till your very end, I really would, but I have a schedule. You know how it is.”_** ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________The Foxy mask slunk down to the Freddy torso once Springtrap let go. The killer walked back to the closet entrance and plucked something out from a back pocket. This time it was a wallet. He opened it and looked at a photo of a family that was inside. Springtrap looked back to the dying man and dealt one final blow. ** _“You’ll be missed, I’m sure.”_** ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________He said nothing more and let that thought to worm its way into Clifton’s dying mind. Springtrap shut the door and whistled as he got ready for the night shift. From the storage closet faint sobs leaked through._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well least it didn't take me forever to get this chapter out, I count this as a win. Could've had this out a little sooner but I wanted to get a second opinion to make sure this chapter played out how I wanted. I looked this over a sum of three times so I hope that was enough to get it right. I kept the dialogue to a reasonable amount, avoid things getting too chatty and giving too much away.
> 
> Some more from my purple guy, a little preview for what Mike's going to be in for. Of which, we'll be getting back to him next chapter. Get ready for night seven! Again, not the final night, got one more afterwards.
> 
> This chapter is clearly inspired by the "don't move" scene from the first book, the one scene I liked from it, but with my own spin of course.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think! I'd also like to thank everyone for the support thus far!


	46. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Trigger Warning:** Mentions of suicidal thoughts in this chapter

The room was dark. Shadows shifted and moved around him, taunting him, threatening to close in and consume him whole. He’d woken up some time ago. At least he thought he did. The difference between his nightmares and the reality he’d been roughly yanked back into, by the scuff of his consciousness, was minute at best. The scenery was all that’d really changed and what did that matter really? He was the same, just in a different place of arguable realness. He was still curled up in corner of the room. Head held in a death grip, like he was afraid that it’d fall from his shoulders, should he let go for even just a second. Still the same pathetic, miserable, excuse for a man that was hounded by voices of the dead. He was still the same trembling wreck, because, what they said was right. It was all true and the truth cut him to the core.

_Coward, you’re a failure. You know that, right? Just a selfish, cowardly, failure!_

__

_It was true. He’d only thought of himself, and it’d costed the life of another person._

__Did you think you’d be treated like a hero if you came back? What hero can’t save one person!_ _

_  
_  


__It was true, so painfully true. Kyle died because he was such a failure. Why hadn’t he thought that something might’ve been attacking her? That was more possible than not in Freddy’s!__

___She died because you were too much of a coward._ _ _

_  
_  
___ _  


___How couldn’t that be true? He’d been cowering in a closet.___

______You’re going to die you know, not that’d anyone would care.  
Die all alone, then disposed of like garbage. Just like us.  
Too good for you honestly.  
Poor sad, pathetic, selfish, failure._ _

_  
_  
___ _  
  


____The whispers continued to dig into him, their voices clawing at his mind, crackles of static a hissing undertone to their voices. The shadows of his warped tormentors, his nightmares, were all around him, suffocating him with their presence. Mike could feel them grip at him, at his arms, shoulder, and throat. Everything felt real. The smell of rust and putrid blood. All sounds were muted, like they were submerged underwater.Telling himself this wasn’t real was a futile endeavor when his mind was swamped with their voices. His own thoughts were muffled by things that didn’t exist._ _ _ _

____Mike didn’t know how long he’d been sitting were he was. Everything was a haze, he didn’t even recall waking up. If he had woken up, his certainty of that was questionable. A sharp pain was across his throat added to is dubious belief of being awake. Blood. He could feel the blood that’d seeped out of him. The warm red trailing down the curve of his neck and onto his work shirt’s collar. He brought a shaky hand to his neck, it felt cold like the rest of him. A slick sensation of warmth built up and around his fingers. It flowed with each rattled breath he took, trailing down his nape and under his work shirt’s collar._ _ _ _

____He…was alive right? Or, was he dying? Mike didn’t know anymore, but it didn’t really matter in the end. He was fighting a battle he didn’t even know how he was going to win. He was just tempting death to put an end to his miserable existence. A chocked, simpering, laugh bubbled from Mike as he held the back of his head. He really did have a death wish, not that it surprised him. This wouldn’t be the first time._ _ _ _

____A muted ring caught Mike’s bleary attention. With effort, he managed to pull his head up to look at his home phone that was station on the counter in his small kitchen area. Who would possibly be calling him? He no friends to speak of, not anymore at least. His last one had been killed by his incompetence last night. It had to be someone trying to sell something. It was the only logical answer. With that in mind, Mike lost interest in the occurrence and let the shadows drag him back down into their inky miasma again. It was hard to breath in the dark. Like the shadows were filling his lungs, enough to make breathing difficult, but not enough to suffocate him._ _ _ _

____The ringing was quickly drowned out by the shadows speaking truths to him. More on how he deserved his misery and that death should be welcomed by him. Mike didn’t resist, he deserved this punishment. He heard their cries and screams of pain and fear. The children he’d left trapped with the monster that’d killed them. His body shuddered as raw fear slithered its way through every vein in his trembling body. This was their fear, he was feeling the children’s fear. At least that’s what he told himself it was. He didn’t know for sure, but Mike felt it to be true._ _ _ _

____Tears seeped from his eyes as another shudder of trembling fear coursed through him. The air seemed to have gotten thin, bearing just enough oxygen for him to breath. His own breaths became distant in his ears, sounding shallow as his head became light. Shadowy figures clung to his icy-cold skin, some whole, some only parts, all emerging from the darkness around him. Their whispers became more distant than his breaths. Mike became barely aware of them or anything around him. He was there, but the world around him hardly existed._ _ _ _

____Thud, thud, a long gait hit familiar linoleum tiles. Hazily, Mike looked to where it was coming from. Everything look faded, like it was an image left to bake in the sun too long. He could only make out foggy forms. The place looked familiar. It was Freddy’s, but not one he’d ever been to. The sound of a carrousel was playing in the background, along with other pizzeria sounds, but Mike was just barely aware of this. His attention was focused on the shadowy purple man that was walking by. He just make out his tall form. It was distorted, by either pixels or static. Mike couldn’t tell which, but he got the impression his hands were tucked behind his back. He was whistling a familiar tune, that wasn’t quite the Freddy’s jingle. It wasn’t the toreador song that Freddy played either._ _ _ _

____Mike’s feet moved on their own and he followed the purple man. He heard the sounds of others milling about, but Mike saw no one else aside from the man in his view. They walked along the linoleum tiled floor for what seemed like a daydream. The destination they arrived at only hardly seemed different from the rest of the haze they’d moved through. The man looked down at something. Mike got the feeling he should follow his gaze and he did._ _ _ _

____A cold dread stabbed at Mike’s heart when he saw a young girl with golden, curly pigtails. She seemed familiar, he didn’t know why, but it filled him with an immense panic._ _ _ _

____A toothless black grin cut its way through the man’s face._ _ _ _

____**“Good to see you, Alice.”** _ _ _ _

____Mike was thrown off balance by a loud metallic cry that shot into his ears, sending him crashing back into reality. His back made rough contact with the wall of his trailer home. The impact caused the window of his home to rattle violently. Mike elicited a startled gasp like he was sucking air back into his lungs after suffocating. Looking around wildly, Mike desperately tried to figure out what’d happened and where he was._ _ _ _

____The sight of his own home wasn’t a comfort. A sense of defeat quick rose up within him, the man slumped up against the wall. His body shuddered, part of him trying to gather his nerves while the shadows told him it was useless._ _ _ _

____His phone rang again. Unwilling to commit to his train of thought, Mike forced himself to move towards his small kitchenette. His balance was weak. His legs seemed to be made of jelly, it felt that if he took a step they’d cave in on themselves. Mike didn’t care and trudged over to the insistent phone, partly stumbling halfway there. He caught himself on the counter and leaned against it. Mike felt completely drained: physically, mentally, and emotionally. He was numb from head to toe, inside and out._ _ _ _

____Mike answered the phone, voice drained of emotion, “Hello?”_ _ _ _

____“Is this Mike Schmidt?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Mike couldn’t pin a name in his current state of mind._ _ _ _

____“Yes, this is Mike.” His body answered the social courtesy cued out of habit._ _ _ _

____The voice became suddenly urgent, “Mike! Mike it’s me Jessica. I’m Kyle’s girlfriend, remember? You stayed over at our place last night? I got your phone number from her.” Mike seized up. The events of the last twenty-four hours catching up with him once again. He went silent and his silence only seemed to panic Jessica more, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond. “Mike, do you know where Kyle is? She hasn’t come home, and she isn’t picking up her cell! This isn’t like her and I’m getting worried. I-I know it’s just rumors…about the pizzeria, but I can’t help but worry about her. Please, just tell me she’s okay…”_ _ _ _

____Mike said nothing. He stood in his kitchen area with the phone trembling in his hand. He’d failed to save her. It was all his fault._ _ _ _

____“Mike.” Jessica urged, desperation beginning to emerge into her voice, “Mike, please, answer me...”_ _ _ _

____His mouth hung open, but he couldn’t manage words. What could he say? That Kyle had been beaten to death by a long since dead murderer? He didn’t even have proof of that! And what if he did tell her? Would she believe him, or think he killed her? Mike mentally went over any possible out come in his mind and none of them were good. No matter what he said, Jessica would leave the conversation hating him and grieving. Nothing. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Jaw welded shut, Mike hung up the phone. The sound of the phone falling into its home was deafening, only to give way to the whispers of the shadows._ _ _ _

____Only one word was said, over and over.____

____Coward._ _ _ _

_  
_  
___ _  


_____Soon after his phone began to ring again, compounding his torment. Mike recoiled, as if struck, and gripped his head. His nails dug into his scalp, with any more force he threatened to make himself bleed. Mike shook his head, demanding the phone and the voices be silent. Neither listened, if anything they both only seemed to get louder._ _ _ _ _

_____“Shut-up, just leave me alone…shut-up!” Mike hollered as he crumpled slowly onto the floor. His teeth clenched together as he sobbed into the carpet, “Please, just leave me alone…I’ve had enough…”_____

____There’s only one way out._ _ _ _

_  
_  
___ _  


______The world became still. The voice sounded so casual, just pointing out a fact, as it brought forward the thought that’d already been on Mike’s mind. Listlessly he brought himself up to his knees, as sat in the middle of his living room space. The shadows looked on expectantly, Mike couldn’t see them as he stared down at the carpet, but he could feel their void-filled eyes staring at him. Waiting. The phone was still ringing in the background and continued to go unanswered as Mike got to his feet and went to his small bathroom. By the time the night guard was inside the ringing had ceased to no doubt to start up again later. Mike stood in front of the mirror and a shell of a man stared back._ _ _ _ _ _

______His face still had tear streaks making it appear clammy, skin pale almost sickly. Eyes reddish and puffy with dark circles, formed from decades of irregular sleep. Greying hair was frazzled from him gripping at it. His uniform was a mess with specks of blood from his run in with the animatronics. To say he looked like utter shit would be stating the obvious._ _ _ _ _ _

______Mike pulled open the sink cabinet and grabbed a pill bottle from a clear plastic bin he kept under the sink. It was a bottle of over-the-counter sleeping pills. It was pretty full still. Mike barely needed any with how tired he constantly felt, all thanks to his nightmares. He stared at bottle as he sat himself down on the rim of his bathtub. A familiar scene to him. On more than one occasion Mike had contemplated this. Between the vivid, painful, nightmares, his guilt, the loneliness…Putting up with it all day after day, a never-ending cycle that had no end in sight. None that weren’t painful or unpleasant anyway._ _ _ _ _ _

______Why die painfully by animatronics when he could just go to sleep?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Mike eyed the bottle dully as he thought the idea over. He had nothing and no one left. The voices were right to say he wouldn’t be missed. It’d take a while to find him, likely when the electric and water company noticed he wasn’t paying his bills anymore. He’d never really talked to his neighbors either aside from the occasional brief greeting. Mike reached for the lid but hesitated to grab it, he just…couldn’t bring himself to commit, just like the other times. Even with his lowly lot in life, the thought of there being another day after this one was a comfort. Tomorrow bought the slim chance of it things somehow getting better._ _ _ _ _ _

______Mike gave the white pill bottle a look of distaste and dumped it back into the plastic bin and shut the cabinet. He sat back on the rim of his tub and ran his hands through his hair, a strong exhale coming from his nose. He needed a smoke._ _ _ _ _ _

______The ragged night guard straightened himself and pulled his cigarette pack from his back pocket and a lighter from the pocket on his shirt. He lit up a stick and took a few puffs, letting the addicting nicotine ease his nerves. Already Mike looked back on his moment of weakness with shame. The voices of the monsters in his head were already mocking him for it. Now, with his mind more lucid, Mike buried them with another puff from his cigarette. He couldn’t check out, not just yet, he’d come back to help the kids and that’s what he was going to do. Even if he was just going to be a target for their anger until he figured out where their bodies were._ _ _ _ _ _

______Mike walked out of the bathroom when the phone went off again. With nicotine in him Mike felt he should at least give Jessica some sort of answer, or at least tell her to stay away. He took a breath, readying himself for however this conversation was going to end._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Mike, thank god you answered…” Mike inwardly winced at the amount of relieved desperation on in Jessica’s voice, “Please…please just tell me something.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Jessica, first, I’m sorry…about hanging up. You-you have a right to get an answer.” Mike began, taking another puff quickly to keep his nerves strong. His tone grew grim, “As for Kyle…I’m sorry. She’s not coming home.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“So, it’s true then…Oh, god…” Jessica said weakly, there was a moment of pause before she continued, “They-the management covered it up like the others thirty years ago…?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Mike felt shame hit him, he should’ve fought harder against letting Gregor and the janitor taking Kyle’s body away. “I’m going to talk to the janitor in the morning.” The least he could do is find out where they hid it. “I promise, I’ll get something out of her.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Jessica sounded she was on the verge of breaking down, but she managed to keep herself together to respond, “Al-alright. I’m going to trust you to do this Mike.” Her voice hardened with warning, “But, if you don’t. I swear, I’ll find you and make you do it. Kyle was everything to me, understand?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I understand.” Mike answered, taking her sternness in stride. He tensed his expression into a concerned frowned, “But, promise me, that you’ll stay away.” Mike knew he wouldn’t be able to handle if he failed to protect the person Kyle had loved. “I don’t trust the guy in charge... I can’t say he wouldn’t get his own hands dirty.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’ll stay away for tonight. You give me an answer tomorrow, and I’ll keep away.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Mike relaxed after he heard that and nodded to himself, “Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow then.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______The call was concluded after that. Mike took one last long drag from his cigarette before he put it out on the ashtray that was on his entertainment system. It was a waste of a cigarette, but he wanted to clean up before he headed in for his shift tonight. The call had gone better than Mike had thought, further highlighting his previous overreaction. Jessica wasn’t happy with him, but she was still willing to give him a chance. To a degree she still trusted him and that was more than he could ask for._ _ _ _ _ _

______He just needed to last through the night._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as Mike is one of my favorites in my au, he can be hard to write for sometimes. His self-loathing can make me lose my steam. As side from that this chapter took a bit because college snuck up on me, but I've gotten a handle back on that and took care of an art project so I think, fingers crossed, the next chapter won't take as long. Aside from that, we're officially on night seven-next chapter! 
> 
> Learned on of the kid's names this chapter, think its clear who it is but feel free to leave a guess lol
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed, let me know what you think, and see you next chapter!


	47. Night Seven (part 1)

Mike stood beside his car like a prisoner staring at the gallows. His expression, a defeated grim frown and his eyes dull. He forced himself forward, inwardly hoping that he’d gain something substantial from tonight. Perhaps Golden Freddy would give him some information, surely a victim would know details the internet didn’t. It wasn’t likely she knew where her body had been hidden but any bit of information would be helpful at this point. No, the one that’d know where the bodies were, was their killer. Mike doubted he could get him to spill the location outright, at best he could hope from the murderer was taunting hints. 

With a little over half an hour before midnight, Mike mentally went over what he knew about the murderer. He didn’t have much, but at best he had two possible leads on the monster’s identity: Davey Moore or Frits Smith. As much as he sympathized with Harriette, he wasn’t about to turn down a possible suspect just yet. While getting the location was unlikely, there was a vaugely better chance of finding out who the killer was. Not like the murderer had to worry about being taken to jail and punished now that he was already dead. If Mike got his identity, he could have somewhere to start looking.

The train of thought brought up the hallucination he’d had earlier. “Good to see you, Alice.” Who was Alice? Was she one of the “missing” children? Though being that he heard this while he was hallucinating, it could mean nothing, but considering it dealt with Freddy’s…Mike was unable to completely dismiss it.

Mike exhaled through his nose. Only one way to figure that out, go into the lion’s den and hope Golden Freddy was willing to give answers. That in mind, he began to move away from his car and towards the degrading mausoleum that was the pizzeria. The building was frigid as ever when he entered and the atmosphere bared despair down onto his shoulders. Expecting this, Mike ignored it as he shut and locked the door behind him before depositing the keys into his pocket.

With footsteps echoing though the empty halls, Mike came to the familiar sight of the security room. He sat down on the black rolling chair and looked at the cracked screen of the control tablet. Somehow, as he sat on the chair, the fact he’d be going through the shift alone occurred to him. He’d expected this, but the missing presence of Kyle was hard to avoid. Snapping his eyes shut, Mike shook off the desire to grieve. Not here, not now, Mike scolded himself as he straightened his posture and pulled the chair up to the security desk. 

Taking up the security tablet, Mike woke the device up and checked the time. He had a little less than thirty minutes till midnight, but that wasn’t what the night guard focused on. All the cameras were offline. From the back hall to the front desk, when a camera was selected it showed nothing but a black screen with the words “Camera: Offline” in brackets, dead center. His mind went back to the previous night. This had been what’d caused him and Kyle to get split apart, or at the very least, distracted him long enough for Mangle to bolt out of the vent.

With time to spare before the animatronics began moving, Mike got up and leaned through the office doorway. The camera outside the security doors naturally being the closest, Mike looked up and saw the wires providing them with power had not only been severed but looked to have been ripped right out. Frantic, he went through the office and checked the other door camera. It was in the same condition. The night hadn’t begun but his mind was already racing, how had this happened? Did the ghosts wise up and sabotage the cameras? It had happened the night prior.

The self-given reminder caused Mike to stop for a moment. Kyle had been murdered by the killer’s ghosts, not the animatronics.

“Son of a bitch.” Mike swore beneath his breath. The guard stood agitated in the middle of the security office. This changed everything. The animatronics would move freely now. Foxy was going to be an even bigger issue than he already was, the pirate was going to be relentless. Mike was certain the pirate captain wanted to personally end his life by way of hook or teeth. Then there was puppet.

Mike took up the tablet again and tapped the prize corner camera. Relief flooded him when he saw that the charge button to the music box was still available. Mike found it a bit strange that the music box hadn’t been disconnected but he wasn’t about to question it.

On edge, the night guard looked around warily, good as that was it still left one question: How was going to survive tonight?

He looked to where the Freddy mask was supposed to be, beside the desk, and saw the spot vacant. Mike swore to himself again. Now he’d have to go and get one from parts and services. The guard knew he still had time before midnight, but the animatronics were at their most active tonight. What were the chance that they’d become active before their usual time? The thought cause Mike to tense anxiously. He also had the murderer’s ghost lurking around.

Need all the help I can get. Mike reminded himself as he took up his flashlight.

Being careful to keep an ear out for any sound of movement, the guard walked down the hall only to seize up at the sight of Pirate Cove. Mike stood still as a statue, questioning whether he should head back and go down the other hall. Quickly he decided against this, the left hall was the quicker rout to parts and services. He couldn’t afford to waste any time. Still, despite himself, Mike found himself cautiously moving forward. Nerves wound tight, the guard was prepared to bolt at any sound or movement from behind the starry lavender curtain. The curtain remained still as the guard passed by, but Mike felt like the vulpine predator was just waiting to leap out at him. Looking over his shoulder, he kept his eyes cautiously on the curtain while walking away. 

Mike’s gaze was finally pulled away from pirate cove when he came into the main party room. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica didn’t seem to acknowledge his presence. Their gaze focused solely on the wall in front of them, expressions amused yet lifelessly blank. Freddy’s mic was held at around his waist, Bonnie was mid-strum of his guitar, and Chica held Carl up just below her shoulder. It looked like the trio had stopped in the middle of their show. Frozen in time like a photo had been taken of the scene, leaving them stuck until the next show. Mike got the felt the animatronic’s smiles and friendly demeanor was forced. The night guard kept his eyes on them while he headed to the back halls. The atmosphere seemed to bare down on him more the closer Mike got to the stage. His previous thought changed. They knew he was here but, for the moment, couldn’t do anything about it.

Pace quickened Mike moved into the darker back halls, the beam from his flashlight dancing around as he jogged along the linoleum tiles. The guard shuddered, it felt like he’d been dunked into ice water from how oppressively cold the hall was. Mike swallowed a stone that’d manifest in his throat, the air seemed to be thicker, harder to breath. He disregarded the sensation, he couldn’t let the atmosphere get to him. Things had yet to even begin tonight.

Briefly Mike was confused by the sight of the parts and service room door being closed, he then remembered Bonnie hadn’t even started to move yet. He put the oddity aside as he grabbed the door handle. Mike found himself further surprised when the door opened. Allowing himself a faint sigh of relief the night guard walked into the room. When he did, Mike’s head recoiled as his nose was attacked by the strong smell of copper. Caught unawares by the smell he gave sputtered coughs while hunched over, nearly gagging at the offensively strong smell. The sight of the animatronic masks; however, was more than enough to encourage Mike further into the room. He knew what the smell was, but he’d investigate once he had a mask.

The feel of the faux brown fur on against his fingers was ironically reassuring to Mike as he took up a Freddy mask. Just to be safe, he checked to make sure the inside was free of any lethally sharp beams or wires. Inside the husk was barren, solidifying the head piece to be Mike’s mask.

Mask now cradled in the crook of his arm, Mike warily turned his gaze to the storage closet the undoubtable source of the metallic smell. His stomach twisted itself into knots at the thought of investigating, but another part of him urged him to open the door. A cold rock dropped right square into the pit of his stomach when a thought filled Mike with dread: What if they’d stuffed Kyle’s body into the storage closet? He hadn’t seen the janitor remove the body because he’d stormed out. That thought stuck itself in his already stressed mind. Now he had no choice but to check and see.

Mike placed the Freddy mask onto the work bench before he pulled open the storage closet door. As if the flood gate had been opened, Mike roughly gagged at an overwhelming rush of copper odor. Arm holding the door open, Mike buckled over and continued to gag. It almost felt like he was going to puke, almost miraculously the guard didn’t. Breathe horse from the involuntary action, Mike had to take a moment to smooth his breathing back to a more stable rhythm. Once regathered, the guard straightened his posture back to an upright position and turned his flash light from the floor to the back of the storage closet. When the light revealed what’d been blanketed by darkness, Mike’s complexion became nearly as white as chalk.

Seated on what looked to be a party room chair was a blood-stained amalgamation of various animatronic suit pieces. The floor around the chair was stained a dark red vermillion with drying blood. A Foxy mask hung at an awkward limp angle, leaving the jaw left hanging open. The eyepatch and eyelid were both closed, much to Mike’s inward gratitude. The way the head was angled, Mike got a look at the blood covered neck of the person that’d looked to have bled to death. 

Heart pounding in his ears Mike moved up to the entombed corpse. Silently he hoped, to whatever was listening, that it wasn’t Kyle. Standing in front of the bloody suit clad body, Mike wondered just how he could figure out what was inside. Pulling off the mask would likely disfigure the corpse further and Mike was certain his stomach couldn’t take another hit without retching. The open jaws of the Foxy mask were the only visible window to the inside of the encased body that Mike could spot.

Holding his breath, Mike lowered and angled his head to see inside the fox mask. He was both relieved and horrified by what he saw. Relieved by the fact it was a man and not Kyle but horrified by the bloody and cut up mess that the poor man had been reduced to. His concern alleviated Mike drew back and left the parts and services room altogether. He needed some less copper laden air out in back hall.

Mike took long breaths in order to calm his racing mind and heart. With everything he’d been through and seen, that was a strong contender for the most grotesque. The night guard wiped his forehead as he gave an exhale. Okay, he found out the body wasn’t Kyle’s; which now he felt was a ridiculous thought to begin with, now what was he going to do about the fact there was a body? Mike’s eyes widened as a realization hit, evidence! This was his chance to have something to hold against Gregor and make him help or better yet-get the business shut down. 

While glancing about the halls, his paranoia ensuring he keep an eye and ear out for anything, Mike pulled out his cellphone. He’d thankfully managed to charge it before he came in for his shift. Not a full charge, but sixty-five percent was better than nothing. One quick trip back into the foul-smelling parts and services room and Mike came back with not only a photo of the corpse but also his Freddy mask. Having had enough of the smell and room for the night, Mike shut the door to it before he left back to the security room. He felt the stare of the animatronic’s hateful plastic eyes glaring daggers into his back as he walked past. Mike quickened his pace a little, wanting to return to his sanctuary that could also be considered his cell.

Mike slowed as he neared pirate cove, not because of his fear of the fox or because the fox had revealed himself. He could hear it. It wasn’t a growl or a hiss. Slow, ragged, weak and riddled with pain wheezes came from behind the starry lavender curtains. Each seeming more filled with pain than the last. Mike stood at the entrance to the hall that lead to the security room, and the front entrance of the pizzeria, the stage was a few feet away from him. Mike turned himself back and stared at the cove as the wheezing continued, progressively getting worse and worse. The guard felt morbidly transfixed on the occurrence, he’d never heard the pirate do this before. It reminded him, that despite the animatronic’s clear intent to murder him, it was still possessed by a murdered child. At the same time, it filled Mike with creeping dread.

The noise became choked, gagging on something. A heave followed by something spilling onto the stage floor had Mike take a step back. Something dark began to seep out from under the lavender curtain, followed closely by a rotting odor. Rattled death throes came afterwards, accentuated by high-pitched pained gags. Desperate attempts to breath through what once clogged a throat. More of the dark liquid seeped out from under the curtain as more was spilled onto the stage floor with each gag. When it began to seep over the edge of the stage, Mike was already hurrying to the security room.

The open doors to the security room provided no shielding from the pained death cries coming from pirate’s cove. With the pizzeria being quiet, lacking any customers, or other noises the cries were only slightly dampened by the sound. Mike dropped the Freddy mask onto the floor and covered his ears, trying to block out the ghastly sound. It wasn’t even the start of his shift and he’d already been subjected to not one but two experiences he could’ve done without. As he tried to block out the noise needles prodded at Mike’s mind, his breathing steadily becoming quicker, and pain bloomed from his scar.

Keep it together, keep it together. Mike chanted to himself inside his head. He couldn’t have an episode right now, on night seven of all things!

“M-I-K-E.”

Mike looked up as he heard the computerized voice come from the tablet. Quickly realizing who it might be the guard pulled the chair back up to the metal security desk. Instead of the black screen displaying that a camera was offline it was crackling with static. The screen was distorted with the black, white, and grey pixels moving about the screen at random. At the center of the screen was Mike’s name in bold white letters.

Right after Mike laid eyes on his name the letters were deleted one at a time, like someone was hitting the backspace button, then quickly replaced by a new message. As the message was written the computerized voice read it off, “W-H-Y D-I-D Y-O-U C-O-M-E B-A-C-K?”

“I want to help.” Mike responded, keeping his voice soft but urgent. The pizzeria had gone quiet again, but he didn’t want to risk someone over hearing. What might come of it, Mike didn’t know but it was probably best to keep quiet just in case.

“T-H-E O-T-H-E-R-S W-I-L-L S-T-I-L-L W-A-N-T T-O K-I-L-L Y-O-U.”

“I can handle them.” Mike said, though he didn’t sound as sure as he wanted to. Mike gripped the tablet tightly, stress and desperation expressed through whitening knuckles, as he went on, “Just tell me something. Anything. Any information might help me find where he hid your bodies.”

When the warning was deleted Mike tentatively awaited the response, but none came. Mike became frantic, he had to get an answer. He had to help them, but he couldn’t do it without help. Even then, would anything he did actually help them? The thought was something he dreaded, but he had to try.

“Please, please answer…” Mike pleased to the screen covered in static. Still no answer came, making the night guard increasingly distressed. Out of that desperation, he used the one name he had to try and get an answer, “Alice, please!”

To Mike’s immense relief, he got a response, but it wasn’t what he’d been expecting. A high-pitch whine from the tablet made the night guard reel back. He jolted in surprise when the tablet’s screen was split with another crack. More worryingly, the light in the room went out then slowly flickered back to life, the light was notably duller when it returned. Mike looked up to where the light was, a gravely worried expression his face. Had he angered the phantom? 

The air in the room drop several degrees as the screen changed again. Mike felt uncertain when he saw different colors popping onto the screen. Once again it looked like an old eight-bit game. This time there was a little girl with curly blond pigtails, bright green eyes, and what looked to be a light blue dress with white lace. Around her seemed to be a setup of the pizzeria, but it didn’t look to be the one he was in as there was a carousel in the corner. NPC characters shuffled around repetitively, all of them sharing the same boy or girl look. The scene displayed was colorful and cheerful looking, but the music was off. It was slow, choppy, and dreary sounding. 

In the corner Mike spotted green direction buttons. Was he supposed to move the character around like in a game? He pulled his cellphone out from his pocket and checked the time. He had just less than twenty minutes before midnight. Mike fidgeted unsurely in his chair. This was far from the time or place to be playing a game, but if this was his chance to get some sort of answer Mike felt he had no choice. Mike glanced at both hallways and listened for any sound. The only thing he heard was the sound of the broken music coming from his tablet.

Knee shaking from being so on edge, Mike began to move the pigtailed girl around. As he did Mike realized she looked familiar. She was Alice from his hallucination. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut as he recalled the purple man with the empty grin. Mike swallowed the lump in his throat as he continued to explore the environment in the game. 

It was confirmed it was Freddy’s when he found the main trio on stage, but the three looked different. Bonnie was blue and all three had rosy colored cheeks. When he examined them, each read “toy” followed by their designated names. It took a moment of thought but Mike recalled reading about the plastic toy models of the animatronics. They were definitely less creepy than the classic models but were the same line that Mangle had come from. Mike doubted they were friendlier than the classic cast.

Mike wander around the pizzeria, eventually coming to the tables where most of the adults were seated. Concerningly, the character he believed to be, Alice stated none of them were her parents. When he prompted her to talk to them, she’d state, “These aren’t my parents. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” 

After Mike clicked on everything in the room, Alice stopped and said, “I want to go find my friend.”

The statement was innocent, a simple request, but the purple man from his hallucination caused Mike grow ever more worried about where this would go. He shifted in his chair as he attempted to guide Alice to the other party rooms. Much to his dismay this would always get a response of “He’s not in there” then Alice would walk away from the room. Mike rubbed his forehead, the chance of this ending the way he suspected it to was now all the more certain.

Mike reluctantly led Alice towards where he felt the security room was. To his surprise she repeated the phrase “He’s not in there” and walked away. This time the character seemed disappointed. Slightly confused, Mike was left to wander around the pizzeria in attempt to locate this friend. When the character suddenly stopped Mike was momentarily confused. 

A text box appeared, **“Good to see you, Alice.”**

Shortly after the purple guy appeared from off screen. The pixel character looked exactly like the one that’d appeared on the tablet the night Kyle died. Mike was numb as the conversation continued. Much as he tried to get Alice to move away nothing happened when he pressed the arrows. However, he did learn something from this cut scene.

“Oh! There you are Davey!” Alice exclaimed in surprise.

**“Sorry, I’ve been working in the shop today.”** Davey explained, the white purples of his dark eyes glancing back towards what Mike believed to be the parts and services. Mike was surprised by this. The murder had not only been a security guard but a mechanic as well?

“Can I see?” Alice asked, much to Mike’s inward fear, but surprisingly the killer turned this away.

**“You know I can’t allow that Alice.”** Davey’s toothless grin became a one lined frown. He looked back towards the parts and services room again, **“If boss sees me letting you in there through the camera recording I could lose my job. That room is full of dangerous equipment.”**

While Mike was relieved Alice was disappointed, “Yeah, I wouldn’t want you to lose your job.”

**“Don’t worry too much about it.”** Davey assured, Mike felt a slither of cold run through him as a smile returned to his face. **“Can’t say I’ve followed protocol perfectly myself. Speaking of, you know how you’ve wanted to see my old routine from when I was an entertainer?”**

“You mean I can finally see you in costume!” Alice exclaimed the avatar doing an excited dance, complete with a pink pixel smile.

**“Shh! It’s going to be a special secret surprise.”** Alice quickly to stopped dancing and covered her mouth. The smile on the murderer’s avatar curled, **“The spring-lock suits were retired, but I managed to squeeze some time in to get’em all fixed up. A big party is coming up in a couple of days. Think you can meet me by safe room?”**

“Course I can.” Alice answered, despite Mike inwardly begging her to say no. 

He was yanked from his panic momentarily when the pixels constructing the screen dissolved to black. His dread was reestablished when it cut to the two in what he guessed to be the safe room. Alice was the same as before, but the murder was in a yellow bonnie suit. Mike’s mind immediately went back to one of his nightmares. That thing that’d torn off the shadowy skin and was a twisted corpse of an animatronic underneath. Mike refocused on the scene unfolding on the tablet screen when a text box appeared.

**“Spring has an extra special surprise for you Alice!”** Davey said, apparently still in character or at least that’s what Mike’s guess was. He motioned over to a golden Freddy suit. Mike began to shake his head, mouthing “no” at the screen. His silent please were ignored and the scene played on. Davey walked over and opened up the yellow bear’s torso piece then looked back to Alice, **“Goldie is all fixed up too! Like Spring said before! Would you like to see what it looks like from the inside? You always said you wished you could wear a mascot suit.”**

This time Alice wasn’t readily compliant and there was a moment the scene went still. Davey was quick to give assurance, **“Spring fixed it, it’s completely safe…”** What he said next appeared more slowly than previous words, **“Spring’s your friend, he made sure it was like brand new.”**

The emotional manipulation paid off and Alice responded with, “Ok, um, do I get to do the voice too?”

**“Of course!”** Davey exclaimed as he move aside to let the child move to the front of the suit. He then picked her up saying, **“Let Spring help you in.”**

Once Alice was inside the suit Davey shut the torso. Alice’s blue eye could be seen in the once empty hole of the suit. Before Alice could say anything, Davey spoke again, the eyes of the Spring-Bonnie suit went dark, **“Alice.”**

“Yeah?” Alice replied from inside the suit.

**“The spring locks are very sensitive.”**

“W-what, what do you mean?”

**“I was never your friend Alice, good-bye.”**

Davey struck the golden Freddy suit with a hard blow. The suit shook and a high-pitch, pained, scream of a young girl came from the tablet. Red pixels erupted from the suit and began to stain it and the ground. Mike stared, the scream having stripped him of the will to speak, scream, or yell at the atrocity he’d just witnessed. The murderer just stood watching the child’s eyes slowly go dark. He took the bunny mask off once the life finally had left her eyes, his toothless grin finally exposed.

After removing the spring-lock suit the killer headed to leave the room. Before exiting he paused a moment and said, **“Look at it this way Alice, now you can be Fredbear forever.”**

The scene over a loud game over tone played and the screen was reduced to black pixels. It took Mike a moment to recollect himself enough to think clearly again. He’d found out who the killer was but also the names of once of the victims and how she’d died. What the killer said last prodded at his mind, Mike felt a cold dread rise up, had the monster known that the kids were trapped haunting the suits and despite that kept going? Mike wouldn’t put it past someone who repeatedly killed kids.

“Alice…I’m so sorry…” Mike didn’t know what good apologizing would do or why he was really saying it, but it was something he felt he had to say. For leaving her trapped, for all she’d endured, and the fact she died the way she did at the hands of someone she’d trusted.

A pair of heavy hands handed on top of the table. Alarmed, Mike’s head shot up to meet the gaze of the new presence. It was Golden Freddy. Before the night guard could say anything, the phantom screeched commandingly at him with a powerful force, “LEAVE!”

Suddenly as she’d appeared the phantom was gone. Mike looked around, suddenly covered in a cold sweat. The security office was cold as a freezer and Mike was compelled to rub his shoulders to warm himself. He looked back to the tablet and it was once again displaying that the camera was offline. Mike looked at the time, it was five past midnight. Alarmed Mike swore beneath his breath. Then he stalled a moment, he didn’t hear any animatronics moving. That was odd, last time they moved nonstop on the seventh night. 

Mike jumped at the sound of the phone going off. He looked to it, expecting a recording but that wasn’t the case. It was a call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to writers block and some things I had to deal with irl, this chapter took far longer to complete than I wanted to. Regardless, here it is! A lot of stuff happened this chapter and the night has barely just begun! 
> 
> Pertaining to Davey and Alice's "friendship" there's plenty to say about that but I'm saving that for another story that I hope to get around to.
> 
> The killer has set up the night to go in his favor, how's Mike going to survive...?
> 
> Let me know what you think and see you when I manage the next update!

**Author's Note:**

> Some details of this fic:  
> -This will be a horror mystery, characters will die.  
> -The animatronics will follow their game portrayals so not talking.  
> -Some elements won't be exactly like the games but it will follow the overall general story  
> -This is set after Five Nights at Freddy's three.  
> -Excludes SL
> 
> If you have any questions feel free to ask.


End file.
